Final Fantasy VIII retold
by Mileenasboi
Summary: Writing again. Follow Squall and his friends through the retelling of the epic Final Fantasy 8
1. Chapter 1: Duel

"Duel"

The warriors ran at each other, the rain beating down hard on the rocky plain; their battlefield. Two gunblades clashed against each other, sparks flying. The blonde man pushed hard, throwing the young brunette away from him. The brunette landed on the ground with a thud.

Then his eyes widened as the blonde held out his hand. An orange aura surrounded his palm before a blast of Fire shot out, slamming into him. He barely had time to block the magic attack. The blonde walked forward mercilessly and raised his sword. The only thing the brunette could do was watch in horror as the blade swung down, sweeping across his face. The result was a long shallow cut across his nose.

Angered, he leapt to his feet and charged toward his opponent. He drug his sword upward, the tip dragging along the ground causing it to heat up before he swept it across the blonde's face, opposite the direction of his own cut. Then, with a feeling of satisfaction, he succumbed to the darkness.

The brunette awakened with a start. He was in a small room, lying on a bed. The infirmary physician, Dr. Kadowaki, leaned over him. A small window over him was open, allowing a light breeze to blow through, making the green curtain billow gently.

"Ah, so you're awake..." Dr. Kadowaki said.

She looked over him a bit. "Looks like your eyes are focusing. You should be fine. Could you say your name for me?"

The young man thought a bit. "Squall," he answered.

Dr. Kadowaki nodded. "How are you feeling now?"

Squall put his head in his hands. His forehead hurt a little, but he responded, "Okay, I guess."

Dr. Kadowaki nodded again. "I'll send someone for you then. Let's see, your instructor is..." she thought to herself a bit. Then she said, "Quistis. I'll call her now."

Dr. Kadowaki walked out of the room. Squall could hear her dialing the numbers on the phone. He leaned back, draping his arm across his face. He was trying to block out the sounds from the outside, but he could hear footsteps approaching. Perhaps it was Quistis.

The footsteps stopped out side of the examination window, on the left side of the room. He heard an unfamiliar voice say, "So Squall, we meet again."

He turned his head to see a brown headed girl. She was wearing a blue button up shirt, a white skirt, and had a green shawl draped across her arms. She smiled at him and walked off.

_That was weird,_ Squall thought. He turned back over. Then he heard the automatic doors opening. He looked up. A tall blonde woman walked in. She wore an instructor's uniform. Her bangs hung down on either side to frame her face while the rest of her hair was flipped up in the back with a clip.

She walked over to the desk and then turned to look in the room. She put her hand on her hip and sighed. She walked into the room with her arms crossed.

"I knew it'd be either you or Seifer," she said. She turned around and went to walk. Then she stopped and turned back to Squall, "Well, come on."

Squall and Quistis walked along the walkway, leading from the Infirmary to the Main Hall of Balamb Garden. They were headed towards Quistis' classroom on the 2nd Floor. Quistis looked at Squall. She kept looking at him as they walked. Two students passed and waved at Quistis. She nodded at them and then resumed her watch of Squall.

"What is it?" he asked her.

"I'm just trying to understand my student is all," Quistis said, "What's on your mind?"

He looked at her. "Nothing," he said. Quistis had said it at the same time he did, as if she knew it were coming.

_She thinks she knows me?_ He thought. He became a little frustrated at this. "I'm more complicated than you think," he said.

Quistis stopped walking and looked at him. A small smile played on her face. "So tell me Squall," she said, "tell me more about yourself."

He knew she had caught him on that. What was there that he could tell her?

"Whatever," he said, realizing she had mimicked him again. She shrugged and kept walking, laughing to herself a bit. The entered the Main Hall and approached the elevator.

Quistis stopped in front of the elevator. She turned to Squall. "Well, aren't you going to say anything?"

He shrugged and she gave up. The rest of there trip resumed in silence. When the elevator doors opened Squall stormed out and Quistis looked after him with a sad look on her face. She followed her silent student into the classroom. He went to his seat and sat down, putting his head in his hands.

Quistis put him out of her mind, resuming her role as instructor. At least for the moment anyway.

"Attention class," she said, causing the classroom to become hushed. "It seems some rumors were flying around since yesterday." She paused a bit before continuing.

"Yes, the Field Exam for SeeD is today." A couple of people gasped and began to chatter. She waited a while for the to become quiet again. "Those participating should report to the Main Hallway in 1600 hours. That is all, dismissed."

The students went to leave. Seifer stood from his seat, his blonde hair making the cut on his nose stand out. "And Seifer," Quistis said. He looked up to her with a look of aggrivation on his face.

"Do NOT injure your partner while training," she said, "Be more careful from now on."

Seifer punched his desk angrily and charged out of the room. Quistis ignored him, being rather used to his rude behavior.

"Squall," Quistis said. He looked up from his desk. "Can I speak with you please?"

Squall got up from his desk and went to the front of the room. He got there, noticing absently the three students that lagged behind in the classroom. Obviously members of the Trepies, a group of fans dedicated to Quistis. He thought that was rather silly.

"Squall," Quistis said, drawing his attention back to her, "You have not completed the Pre-Field test required to participate in the SeeD Examination."

Squall crossed his arms and looked at the floor. _I was going to, but Seifer..._ He thought.

"Hmm...Do you have a good excuse?" Qusitis asked.

He remained silent. Quistis shook her head. "We will begin the Pre-Feild Test in no less that one hour. Meet me by the Front Gate when you are ready. You can resume your studies at your desk until then."

With that, Quistis turned on her heel and walked out of the classroom. Shortly after, the three students followed after her. Squall turned with a tired look and headed back to his desk. He sat down with a plop and turned the power on his desktop monitor. It blinked in and he logged in to the Garden System.

The screen read out:

Login Confirmed: Squall Leonheart

Retrieving GF data for Squall...

GF data obtained. Registering GF's Shiva and Quezacotl.

After Squall obtained his GF's, or Guardian Forces, he exited the classroom. It was a Godsend that he had two Guardian Forces registered under his name. He would allow Quistis to junction one and he would take the other. This would help insure their safety in battle.

He rode the elevator down and walked out through the main hallway. She headed toward the Front Gate where Quistis awaited.


	2. Chapter 2: The Test

"The Test"

Squall arrived at the Front Gate. Quistis was no longer wearing her instructor's uniform, but instead she had on a burgundy outfit. A whip was looped around her belt.

"Are you ready?" Quistis asked. Squall nodded.

"Okay," Quistis said, "Let's go over junctioning again."

She showed him how to junction magic to his weapon and align it with his body to attain different desired effects. That's when he told her about the two Guardian Forces he had brought along.

"Which one do you prefer?" he asked her.

Quistis selected Quezacotl, the Guardian Force of Lightning. Squall junctioned Shiva, the Guardian Force of Ice. After they were done junctioning, Quistis nodded to Squall. He nodded back and they headed out of the Garden.

They walked along the road, but soon they had to get off. The Fire Cavern, where the test was to be held, was northeast of Garden. As soon as they stepped off of the safe haven of the road, which was protected from fiends, a swarm of insects approached.

"Bite Bugs," Quistis said, "An insect. Not a powerful foe. Squall, remember, pull the trigger on the gunblade just as you strike to get the desired affect."

Squall nodded. The insects approached. Quistis snapped her whip and struck one of the insects. Energy crackled around her whip and the insect fell to the ground dead. Squall brought his blade down on another insect, pulling the trigger just as the blade began to slice through it causing a burst of flame to fire through.

Another insect fell dead. "Do you remember how to draw magic?" Quistis asked Squall as another insect approached. He nodded and closed his eyes. He focused on the aura surrounding the insect and located a spell the insect knew how to cast. Then he used his energy to pull a fragment of that spell's power into him self. He learned how to cast Fire.

Meanwhile, Quistis had killed off another of the insects. "Cast the magic Squall!" Quistis ordered.

He nodded and gathered up his strength. A blue aura surrounded him and she brought his hand up. Then he thrust out his hand, letting the magic flow through him. It surged forward and a ball of fire blew up the remaining insect.

"Good," Quistis said, and folded her whip. She brushed her hair behind her ears and said, "Let's continue."

They began walking again. They neared one of the many forest on the island. "We should proceed through here," Quistis said.

They headed into the forest, trying to proceed as quietly as they could. Then, they could hear a sickening sound, like something slimy dragging across the damp soil of the forest floor. They turned as if in a trance to see a large worm-like creature approaching them. Two Bite Bugs had entered the forest as well.

The two stepped back and drew their weapons. Quistis realized they didn't have much more time to be wasting. "Let me handle this," she said.

She stepped forward and a magic aura surrounded her. Squall could feel his physical form fading. Then Quistis thrust out her hands and the two warriors disappeared. The area became dark as a large cloud swirled overhead. Lightning flashed throughout the sky. Then a large bolt came crashing down. Spinning out of it came a great yellow bird. Quistis had summoned Quezacotl. It reared back it's head, gathering energy. Lightning flew all around and the great bird thrust the energy forward, creating a net of electricity. Then a giant bolt darted down and hit the fiends, exploding in a powerful blast. All of the enemies fell in death. Quezacotl disappeared and Quistis and Squall were returned to the battle field.

"There," she said. "Let's go."

They walked through the forest a bit more and then came out on the other side. They soon came upon the entrance to a cave.

"Here we are," Quistis said, "The Fire Cavern. You should take this time to junction any spells you drew from our enemies."

Both of them had fully stocked up on Cure spells. Squall had thrown away the fire magic and stocked up on Blizzard spells. Quistis had also stocked up on Thunder spells. They juntioned their magic and proceeded. Two Garden Faculty awaited at the cave's entrance.

"The objection of this test is to obtain a low level GF," the faculty said. "Proper support is required. Are you ready?"

Squall saluted and said, "I am ready."

Quistis saluted as well and said, "I'm his support. Instructor No. 13, Quistis Trepe."

"Very well," the faculty said. "You have 30 min. to complete your assignment."

They parted and allowed Quistis and Squall to enter. Then they moved back into place as the guards. Quistis and Squall proceeded into the cave, walking at a fast pace while keeping an eye on their time.

"My job is to assist you in battle," Quistis said.

"Whatever," replied Squall.

She sighed and kept moving. "You know," she said, "A lot of the boys choke on this test when I come with them,"

Squall looked at her uninterested. "And why is that?"

"I guess they aren't used to the company of a beautiful woman," Quistis replied.

_Yeah right..._ Squall said. Seeing the look on his face, Quistis said, "I'm just kidding. Just trying to keep you relaxed. That's all."

They kept moving. They were on a narrow pathway leading to some sort of opening in the cave. Suddenly, something burst out of the lava beside the path. A round orange creature that looked like fire incarnate floated on the path, blocking the two from their objective.

"Bomb," Quistis said, "An elemental creature. Use ice spells against this one."

Squall nodded. He gathered his energy and cast a Blizzard spell. Ice crystals gathered up to created a huge ball of ice above the creature's head. Then it slammed down, piercing through the bomb and racking it's body with cold. The bomb fell back and died. Quistis and Squall rushed forward.

"You know, you and Seifer both have an amazing talent," Quistis said. "You're in a class of your own."

Squall ignored being compared with his rival and proceeded into the chamber. A large hole filled with glowing magma sat in the middle. Large rocky spikes protruded around the gaping crater.

"This is it," Quistis said, "Are you ready?"

Squall waved his hand as a sign meaning, "No worries."

"You seem confident enough," Quistis said.

With that, a bright glow emitted from the hole and Squall shielded his eyes. When the light died down, A large lion looking beast with two long horns protruding from his head stood before them. He was humanoid in form, covered with red and orange fur. It was the Guardian Force, Ifrit.

"Let's go," Quistis said.

She pulled out her whip. She snapped it, striking Ifrit across the stomach. He winced and then said, "Hmm...not bad for a human."

"Squall, an ice spell!" Quistis ordered.

Squall prepared the spell. Then, Ifrit growled fiercely. "Pitiful mortals!" he said. He leapt into the air and drove his fist down onto Squall, knocking him down. Squall cried out in pain, the spell he was readying lost. Quistis enchanted, "Cure."

A green light surrounded Squall, magically healing his injury. Squall climbed back to his feet. He was angered now. He stepped forward and a magical aura enveloped him. Quistis and him faded out and then disappeared.

Two blue lights spiraled down and struck the cavern floor. Ice quickly spread out and a pillar of the frozen substance shot up out of the ground. Inside, a figure could be seen. She opened her blue eyes and then bursts out of the ice. She had blue skin with darker blue markings. She arched her back as blinding energy gathered in her palm.

Then she lurched forward and shot the energy out. Ice surrounded Ifrit in thick layers. Then, in a blast of arctic magic, the ice shattered, tearing the fire GF's skin. He crumbled to one knee.

"They have Shiva!?" he said incredulously. Quistis smiled in triumph. Ifrit was almost defeated and they still had 10 min. to spare. The Squall charged forward and struck Ifrit with his gunblade. She pulled the trigger, exploding energy into Ifrit's body.

Ifrit fell back with a great roar. Then he said, "For me to be defeated by a human. Very well, I will join you."

Then the great Fire GF vanished and Quistis and Squall stood there, victorious.


	3. Chapter 3: Preparation

"Preparation"

Quistis and Squall arrived back in Garden. "We have 2 hrs. before it's time to depart," Quistis said.

Squall looked at her absently. "Well," she said, "Good job. You got yourself a GF. You passed the Pre-Test Squall. Now, you should go rest. Change into your cadet uniform and meet back in the hall at 1800 hrs."

He nodded and headed off towards the dormitories. He entered his room lying his gunblade down beside his bed. He lied down and set his clock so that he could get 30 minutes of sleep.

He woke later to the sound of his clock going off. He quickly changed into his cadet uniform and headed down toward the main hall. When he got there, Quistis was waiting by the Directory. She was once again in her Instructor's uniform, or rather her SeeD uniform. She noticed him.

"Over here Squall," she called. He walked over towards her.

"Okay," she said, "You're going to be a member of Squad B. You'll be paired with...Zell Dincht. Quite a lively fellow..."

"Lively," Squall said, "He's just loud."

"Nevertheless," Quistis said, "He is part of your squad. There he is now."

Quistis pointed to a young guy with light blonde hair. He was practice sparring, throwing jabs at the air. Hearing his name, he back flipped over toward them, coming up and giving a thumbs up.

Quistis shook her head and Squall just stood there.

Zell walked to them. "Name's Zell. Nice to meet you." He extended his hand toward Squall. Squall just stood there as if Zell didn't even exist. Zell pulled his hand away, but decided to ignore the other young man's coldness.

"You don't like Seifer do you?" he asked.

Squall finally acknowledged him. "Why?"

"Because you two were fighting this morning. Heard he whooped you pretty good too."

"We weren't fighting," Squall corrected, "we were sparring."

"Well, what's with you and him anyway?"

"That's," Squall said, but Quistis joined in with him on the rest of the sentence, "none of your business."

Quistis shook her head. "That Seifer guy you're talking about. He's your Squad Leader."

"What!?" Zell almost shouted. Quistis shrugged. She looked down to the clipboard in her hands.

"I'm sorry," she said, "It can't be changed."

About that time Seifer came walking up. A girl and a guy followed him. The girl had short silver hair and a path over one eye. The guy was dark and well muscled.

_Fuujin and Raijin tagging along as usual_ Squall thought _I guess that makes up the entire Disciplinary Committee. _

Seifer looked at them. He shrugged. Quistis began going over the mission statement with Seifer. "As Squad Leader," she said, "It is your mission to see that all requirements are completed and that your squad arrives safely back. Good luck."

Seifer laughed. "Instructor," he said, "Save those words for a bad student that needs them."

Fuujin and Raijin chuckled behind him. Ignoring them, Quistis said, "Alright... Good Luck Seifer."

Seifer was taken aback. He was furious that Quistis was getting to him. "Add Instructor Trepe to the list," he said to his posse.

_The list. I wonder what it is_ Squall thought.

He had no time to ponder however. The Headmaster of Balamb Garden came walking up beside Quistis. His name was Cid Kramer. Quistis saluted him, as did the students before him. Then he began talking to them.

"SeeD. The elite mercenary force of Garden. You are the pride and the future of Balamb Garden. Today you will be tested on your skills. Go and accomplish your goals. When you arrive, you will be in a real battle, so no holding back SeeD members will be there to support you should you fail. Follow their instructions and be safe. Good luck."

With that, the cadets were dismissed. They headed toward the parking lot, where a car was prepped and waiting to take them to Balamb Town, where they would board a vessel and sell to Dollet. They got into the car and headed off.

They were silent for a while.

Zell looked over to Squall. "Hey man," he said, "Let me see your gunblade."

Squall made no movement.

"Please," Zell said.

Squall sat still.

"Yeah yeah," Zell said, "Be that way."

The car was quiet a bit more. Zell became antsy and started practice sparring again. After a while, Seifer said, "Stop that. It's annoying."

Zell sniffed and looked at him challengingly. Seifer leaned up and said, "Chicken Wuss."

"What did you call me!?" Zell screamed.

Quistis stood up and said, "Alright that's enough!!!"

Zell sat down and Seifer looked out the window of the car. Quistis sat back down and shook her head, sighing heavily. The car was silent for a bit more.

Squall looked up. "Instructor," he said.

Quistis looked over to him, relieved that he was finally talking. "Yes Squall?"

"Who was the girl in the infirmary this morning?"

"Oh?" Quistis said. She thought back. "Was someone there? I didn't notice anyone? Why?"

Squall looked back down. "It's nothing."

Seifer shook his head. "This is great," he said, " I have a Chicken Wuss and a guy who just hit puberty in my squad."

This sent Zell off again and Quistis shook her head. They finally arrived in Balamb Town and she was very relieved to exit the car. She walked toward the docks where the vessel was headed. Zell and Seifer proceeded ahead of her. She looked back to see Squall standing by the car, staring at the ground. She was worried about him.

"Hurry Squall," she called. He snapped out of his daze and ran over to the vessel. Quistis climbed in behind him and the vessel lurched forward. They were on their way.


	4. Chapter 4: SeeD Exam

"SeeD Exam"

Squall, Quistis, Seifer, and Zell stood in the Comm Room of the Cruiser. In the front of the room, a large monitor was placed in the wall. A brown headed SeeD, who had been introduced to them as Xu, stood in front of it.

"Please be seated," she said. They did so. "We are headed toward Dollet right now. Dollet is a small port town that has been invaded by the Galbadian Army. They have asked us to come in and clean up. The cadets' job is to enter the city and clear out any Galbadian soldiers still there. SeeD members will be placed on the outskirts of the city and keep Galbadian soldiers from entering from the mountain area."

"So basically," Seifer said, "We get to do all the dirty work."

"You could say that," Xu said. She stood for a bit more. "Well, we should be arriving shortly. If you have any questions, talk to Quistis. Good luck to you all."

She walked out of the room and the small group all resumed their sitting. Quistis looked at the group. Seifer looked calm, Zell looked antsy, and Squall was quiet as always. She sat their thinking about the three. Would they be able to work together?

"Well then Squall," Seifer said, "Go outside and see what's going on."

Squall sat for a bit, the grudgingly got up. "Okay," he said.

"Good, because it's an order from the Squad Leader," Seifer said with a smirk.

Quistis was thankful when Squall ignored the comment and made his way outside. He grabbed the schematics from Xu and headed up the stairs.

Squall opened the hatch and looked down at the map in his hands. It showed the town of Dollet. He flipped down a transparency on top of it. This had red and blue markings showing how the teams would go in and where enemy forces were most likely to be.

He looked up from the map. Gunfire and explosions could be seen from all the way out here. Several other Cruisers traveled with them. Squall looked on coldly. It was a war. Suddenly the cruisers kicked into speed and the others shot past the one he was in. One swerved around a guard wall, but the Squall's cruiser ran right at it. It plowed through the wall, going airborne for a while. Squall decided he should go back inside. The cruiser landed back in the water and ran up onto the beach.

Quistis ordered the cadets out and the front of the Cruiser opened. They charged out onto the beach. "Alright guys," she said, "This is the real thing. You are to secure the Central Square. Don't forget to equip your GF's."

They saluted and then headed into the city. They charged up a flight of steps. The entrance loomed before them. They looked up in anticipation.

"Not afraid are you?" Seifer asked. He pulled out his gunblade. "Here they come."

Two Galbadian soldiers ran through the entrance. Zell ran up and punched one of the in the face causing him to fall back. Seifer drew Fire from one of the soldiers and Squall sliced the one Zell had attacked. He fell dead. The Seifer cast Fire on the other. He went down in flames.

"Let's go," Seifer said, and he charged into the area. They walked down a long street, passing a pub where Squad C was clearing out soldiers. Seifer stopped and motioned for the others to do the same. He looked up to where two soldiers stood on a bridge. They jumped down and attacked the three. Zell drew lightning and thrust his hands forward. A bolt of electricity streaked down from the sky and struck one of the soldiers. He fell dead.

Seifer ran forward, and with an upward slice, he ended another soldier's life. They continued on. They ran by a Junk Shop, which unsurprisingly was closed. Seifer stopped.

"This is way too easy. I would've expected more resistance from the 'Mighty Galbadian Army'."

He looked at them and then charged on. "Who does he think he is?" Zell asked. They continued on. Finally they reached the Central Square. A fountain was in the middle of the Square. A soldier who was hidden charged out from the fountain, joined by two others.

"It's SeeD," one of them said.

"But they look like little kids," said another.

A lightning bolt struck down one of the soldiers thanks to Zell. Squall cast Blizzard, and the ice crystal that plummeted down killed another. Seifer sliced into the other one, striking him three times before allowing him to fall.

Seifer turned to them and said, "Alright, I want you two to scout the area for enemies."

They nodded and walked around the area. The one path leaded further into the mountains. One of the SeeD members most likely had it blocked off. Another street was blocked off by a bunch of ruined cars. Squall and Zell approached it carefully. A soldier came over the top of the car, and brought his sword down, slicing into Zell's arm. Zell cried out as blood seeped onto the ground.

"Cure," Squall said. The familiar green light surrounded Zell and the cut healed instantly. Zell rushed forward and began pummeling the man, literally beating him to death. Squall saw the hatred on the young man's face, and he did not like it.

They returned to Seifer. "Okay," Seifer said, "Now we're on standby."

He walked off a little ways. "Guard Duty, how boring."

They sat a while. Time passed without any incident. Seifer was becoming impatient. They heard an explosion and looked around. After a while it quieted again.

"Nothing," Squall said.

"I can't take this anymore!" Seifer said. A dog that had been staying in the area flinched back a bit. "What am I? Some kind of Dog Trainer?"

He got angered and began tapping his gunblade on his shoulder. The dog walked off and then began barking. The three turned to see a large group of Galbadian soldier entering from the mountains. Did this mean that the SeeD member had been defeated? The hid around the corner and watched as the soldiers passed by.

"The enemy," Squall said.

After they had gone, Zell looked up towards the mountains. A radar dish could just be seen over the top of the Dollet Hotel. "So what's up there?"

Seifer looked at him and then with a smirk he said, "Our next destination."

"But that's against orders!" Zell said. "This isn't an ordinary battle. This is a test. We have to stick to orders."

"Stay here if you want," Seifer said, "I don't need any boy scouts in my squad anyway."

He went to walk off. Zell looked to Squall. "Aren't you gonna say anything?" he asked.

"I stand by the captain's decision," Squall said.

Seifer smiled and went over to Squall placing his hand on his shoulder. "You wanna cause some ruckus too, don't ya?"

Squall knocked Seifer's hand away. "I'm just following orders."

"What the hell?" Zell said. "You two are all buddy-buddy now?"

Squall said, "Whatever."

Seifer looked at them. "We don't have much time. Let's go."

They began heading up the path that led into the mountains. They crossed over a long bridge with many streetlights. They crossed the bridge and came upon an area where steps had been carved into the mountain side. Dollet soldiers were lying around injured. Squall looked around. _The results of war_ he thought.

They continued on. Suddenly, one of the soldiers stopped them. "If your going up, be careful. It's a nesting ground for monsters up th..." Suddenly somthing grabbed the man. "H..Help!" he said.

Squall grabbed his hand and pulled back. Whatever had the man let go and then emerged from the bushes. It was a giant snake looking creature with spikes running all over it.

"Anaconduar," Squall said. He took a step back and readied his gunblade. The Anaconduar sucked in a deep breath and then released it quickly. A cloud of toxins spread quickly out across the area. The group quickly covered their noses and mouths. Zell cast Lightning. It struck the creature. The Anaconduar reeled a bit but came back up to fight.

"It's not working," Zell said.

"Let me handle this," Seifer said. He held out his hand and a powerful magical aura surrounded him. The three faced out. Suddenly, a great column of fire shot down from the sky. The fire gathered in one point and Ifrit formed out of it. He landed on the ground and red cracks spread through it. A large ball of magma lifted him off of the ground and into the sky. He stepped off of the rock and arched back before slamming his fist into the great ball. It shot down and struck head on with the Anaconduar. Fire shot up all around and resulted in an explosion. The snake creature fell dead.

"There," Seifer said.

"Th...Thank you," the soldier said. Seifer ignored him and continued up the hill.

They came around a curve on the mountain side. Seifer looked over and saw Galbadian soldiers gathered around what appeared to be a Communication Tower. He crouched down and the others followed suite. The listened in on the soldiers.

"Comm Link is up and running," one of the soldier reported. They turned and walked back in the Communication Tower.

"What are they doing?" Seifer asked, "Making repairs?"

They got up and Seifer dusted himself off. "Let's go," he said.

"Wait," Zell said.

"What the matter? Scared little Chicken Wuss?"

Zell got mad and made a move to strike Seifer, but batted the air instead, remembering that he was being tested.

"What's wrong Zell? Swatting flies?" Seifer said. He chuckled a little and then walked off. Zell slammed his hand into the ground, cracking the pavement a little.

"Dammit!" he shouted.

"There you are!!!" came a voice. The two guys looked up.

A brown headed girl in a cadet's uniform was picking her way down the hill. Suddenly she slipped on a rock and came tumbling down the hill. They moved to help her, but she fluffed her hair and smiled.

"I've been looking all over for you," she said. "I'm a messenger from Squad A. Name's Selfie Tilmitt." Then she looked around. "Um, where's your squad captain?"

Squall looked over the cliff side to see Seifer running into the Communication Tower. He pointed down.

"Whew, this is hard," she said. She jumped down off the cliff and ran up to the door of the tower. She turned around and said, "Aren't you coming?"

They began making their way around the mountain. They came around and met up with her. Squall noticed that Ifrit had been unjunctioned, so he junctioned him and Seifer's magic to Selfie.

"Why did you take the long way around?" Selfie asked.

"Um, people don't usually go jumping off cliffs," Zell said.

"Whatever," Selfie said. She turned toward the Communication tower. Suddenly, screams could be heard and two Galbadian soldiers came running out, paying no attention to the SeeD cadets. They ran past them and on up the mountain trail.

Selfie looked back toward them. Then Seifer came out of the Communication Tower swinging his blade. He stopped and looked at them.

"Hey," Selfie started, but Seifer just turned and went back into the Tower. "Let's follow him," she said.

They walked into the tower. An elevator lift was lowering itself back down. "Did he go up?" Selfie asked.

They looked around. "Hey, a draw point!" She said. She walked over and gathered in the magic. She learned the spell Blind.

They got onto the lift. "Goin up?" she asked.

They nodded. The lift started moving. "This is really neat," she said.

"Don't get too excited," Zell said, "Or you'll fall."

"I wont," Selfie said, a little undignified.

Major Biggs was still working on the Tower panel. It was starting to really get on his nerves. He had started sweating and his uniform was clinging to him. Wedge came around the corner.

"Sir, There have been sightings of a strange sighting passing over the tower,"

Biggs looked over to his charge. "I don't care," he said, "I'm trying to fix this Damned tower."

Wedge saluted. "I'll go look for a wrench sir,"

He walked off. Squall, Selfie, and Zell arrived up on the lift. Suddenly, the tower started shaking. "It's done," Biggs said.

The shaking caused a wrench, in a glove right beside Biggs, to fall off through the metal grating of the tower, clanging to the bottom below. They started looking around as the machinery in the tower sprang to life. Something shot up behind them and Squall turned to see a generator fly up to the disk. The disk opened up and a bright blue light began to gather. Then it shot out a beam. The Communication Tower was now fully operational.

"Hey!" Squall said.

Biggs turned around.

"Who are you?" Squall asked.

"Who the hell are you!?" Biggs replied, turning the question around on Squall.

Seifer came up on the lift then.

"Wedge," Biggs called. He turned only to see Zell. Then he turned in another direction to find Selfie. "Well, uh, I'll just be leaving now..." he said.

He started to walk away, but Seifer swung his sword, knocking some kind of remote from Biggs' hand.

"Aagh, are you crazy?" Biggs asked.

"Just shut up," Seifer said.

Suddenly, Biggs stepped back and fired on them with a gun that was attached to his arm. Seifer ducked and disappeared behind some machinery. Selfie swung out with her nunchaku, hitting Biggs in the face. He stumbled back. "Blind!" Selfie called. A swarm of darkness flew around Biggs' face, so that he could not see.

Zell cast Lightning, striking Biggs in the chest. Biggs' armor absorbed most of the damage however. Suddenly, another Galbadian soldier came onto the scene.

"I found the wrench," Wedge started. Then he noticed the warriors with their weapons drawn. "What is the enemy doing here sir!?"

Biggs tried to peer through the darkness, "Just help me fight," he said. Wedge cast Esuna on Biggs, clearing away the Blindness. Squall decided to end the fight.

He stepped forward and the familiar aura surrounded him. He thrust out his hand, summoning Shiva. She performed Diamond Dust, coving the whole tower in ice. It shattered away. Squall was surprised to find Biggs and Wedge still standing after the attack.

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind came along knocking the two soldiers away. Squall looked up in horror as a huge monster flapped down from the sky. It breathed heavily, more of the fog like substance that had dispatched the two soldiers coming from it's mouth.

"Scan!" Zell called out. The magic cast gave them info on the monster, Elvoret. There was a GF captured within it.

"Maybe we can draw the GF out like magic?" Selfie asked.

"Try," Squall said.

Selfie drew. Sure enough, a sparkle of lights flew from the creature into Selfie's stock. She had attained Siren. The Zell jumped forward and summoned Quezacotl. A cloud gathered over the tour and the bird spun out of the lightning. It showered Elvoret with Thunder Storm.

The huge monster stumbled back a little. Then Selfie summoned Ifrit. Ifrit shout up, performing Hell Fire. The fire erupted all around the creature. Suddenly, the creature gasped and feel back. It started catching fire all over. Fire was the monster's weakness. Then, it exploded in a huge bang. It's particles drifted away.

"Whew," Zell said.

"Oh!" Selfie said. She jumped over the fallen Biggs and walked over to Seifer. "I have a message for Squad B."

"What is it?" Seifer said.

"All cadets are to report to the beach with in 1900 hrs."

Seifer looked down at his watch."That only leaves us 30min." he said.

He ran over to the lift and said, "Better hurry," and proceeded to go down.

"Who does he think he is!?" Zell asked.

"Why don't you ask him?" Squall asked. The lift returned and they all got on.

The lift let them off and they continued to walk outside.

Up on the tower, Biggs regained consciousness. "You think it's over?" he said to no one.

He picked up the remote he had dropped and punched a few buttons. "Go," he said, "Go and destroy them!" Then he collapsed.


	5. Chapter 5: Escape from Dollet

"Escape from Dollet"

Squall, Selfie, and Zell came out of the tower. Suddenly they heard clanging. They looked up to see a giant shape climbing over the grating of the tower. Suddenly it jerked and jumped down onto the path. The three stepped back, but were not quick enough as it attacked.

Zell cast lightning on the robot and it shuddered a little. Squall tried to attack it with his gunblade, but it glanced off on the side.

"It's weak against lightning!" Squall said.

Zell cast lightning again and the robot collapsed. "Let's get the hell outta here!" he shouted. The three turned and ran as fast as they could. Suddenly, they heard the robot behind them again.

"I thought we took care of that thing," Squall said. They kept running. They were almost past the bridge when the robot leapt in front of them. Squall stepped back. The robot shout out its arms and scraped Selfie across the abdomen.

"Cure," Squall said. A green light covered Selfie and her wound healed up.

"Time to end this madness," Zell said. He stepped forward and the magical aura surrounded him. He thrust out his hand. The familiar cloud gathered over the robot. Quezacotl formed a dome of lightning and a huge bolt plummeted down onto the robot, frying it's wiring. Zell faded back in.

They could still hear whirring in the robot. "We should run," Zell said.

They turned and ran into the city. They were running down a street when the robot came after them again. They kept running. The robot smashed through some unfortunate person's car and kept on. The road curved ahead and they ran as fast as they could. They passed the pub again.

"Squad C withdraw!" Selfie shouted and the cadets came running out. The robot was almost on them. It jumped onto the landing above the pub. Still they kept running.

They were almost at the beach. Suddenly, the robot slammed through a wall behind Squall. He tried to run as fast as he could. He had to turn to reach the stair. Suddenly the robot slammed into him. The robots frame crashed through a wall and Squall landed on the beach with ah thud. He climbed to his feet. The robot raised itself out of the sand and pursued Squall. Suddenly, bullets ripped forward and started slamming into the robot. Squall looked up to see Quistis at the Cruiser's machine gun. She gritted her teeth as she fired at the robot.

Squall leapt into the back of the cruiser as the door closed. The last thing he saw before the doors shut completely was the bullet ridden machine exploding on the beach.


	6. Chapter 6: SeeD!

"SeeD!!!"

The trip back to Balamb in the vessel was quiet. Everyone's wounds had been healed and they had junctioned the new GF, Siren. Quistis looked around at her battered students. They had truly faced a lot. A giant fiend and then a homicidal robot. _Then again,_ she thought _if they hadn't left their post, none of that would've happened. _

The Cruiser arrived back at Balamb; the last one to arrive. They all walked out. Quistis looked at the three, Squall, Zell, and Selfie. "Well, good work," she said.

They all saluted to her.

"Be back at Garden before 2100 hrs. You're free till then," she looked around a bit. "Where's Seifer?"

Squall turned to where a car was pulling away from Balamb and pointed to it.

"That bastard!!!" Zell shouted.

"Ugh," she sighed, "Oh well. Dismissed."

They turned and walked out of town. Selfie looked around. "Let's go down to the beach!" she said. They walked off the road and headed towards the beach. The water played on the shore. Selfie sat happily, looking around at the peaceful evening. Thoughts of the giant robot they had to face were already out of her mind.

Suddenly, the sand began stirring.

"Selfie, get up!" Squall said.

She jumped up and spotted two orange fins converging on the spot where she had been sitting. She drew sleep from them and then cast it. The fins stopped moving and sank into the ground.

"Let's go back to Garden," Zell said.

They walked back to the road and continued into the Garden. They stopped at the front gate. Zell stretched and yawned loudly.

"Seriously," Selfie said, rubbing her feet. "I'm so glad we're back."

Squall looked at them quietly. They stood there for a moment. Then Selfie rubbed her eyes. "Whew," she said, "still a little sleepy."

"They should be announcing the test results soon," Zell said. "I'll see you around Squall."

"Bye!!!" Selfie added cheerfully. They both turned and walked off. Squall followed shortly after and headed to the Main Hall of Garden. Quistis, Xu, and Headmaster Cid stood by the Directory talking quietly.

"Well, everyone made it back safe," Xu said. Then she added, "You realize, we'd have made more money if we'd have stayed and caused more ruckus."

"Well in any case," Quistis said, "Galbadia is out of there. They've agreed to withdraw as long as the Communication Tower remains up and running."

"Everyone did really well," Cid commented.

Squall walked up to the small group.

"This one did especially well," Xu said.

"Of course," Quistis said, "He's my best student. He's not very sociable though."

Squall looked at her and frowned a bit. She smiled in return, her blue eyes sparkling. "They'll be announcing the test results soon. You should stick around."

He nodded and walked off. He neared the library. He was going to walk around to his dorm until he noticed Seifer standing there. Seifer looked up at him. Squall could tell he was angry.

"You hear about the Communication Tower right?"

Squall nodded.

Seifer gritted his teeth. "We would've been heroes if they'd have let us do our job."

"You were just looking for a fight," came a voice. Squall turned around to see Xu walking up followed by Seifer.

"You left your post," Quistis said, "so you'll take full responsibilities for your actions."

"Those are harsh words for an aspiring student," Seifer said. "A mediocre instructor will never understand. I was just doing what I thought best as Squad Captain."

"Seifer, you'll never be a SeeD," Xu said, "Calling yourself Captain is a joke."

Seifer was taken aback and bowed his head. _That was a bit harsh_ Squall thought.

Cid came walking up. Xu turned and walked off. Quistis looked at Seifer with a little pity in her eyes. He did not see it however. Cid motioned for Quistis to leave. She bowed to him and walked out.

"Seifer," Cid said. Seifer calmly looked up, his expression blank.

"I do not wish to just punish you," Cid said. "I want you to all be able to act and think freely for yourselves. I do not want you to become machines..."

Suddenly Cid was interrupted by a Garden Faculty Member. The faculty said, "Sir, you have a meeting in your office."

Cid sighed and scratched his head. "So much going on today,"

Squall watched as Cid turned and walked away. Seifer just stood there looking blankly at the fountain. Squall had a feeling that this wouldn't turn out good. He went to say something to Seifer when suddenly the intercom came on.

"Attention. All students who participated in the Field Exam report to the 2F Hallway. I repeat, All students who participated in the Field Exam report to the 2F Hallway."

Squall looked up to the intercom and then back to Seifer. He sighed and walked off. He got on the elevator and rode up to the hallway. He got off and looked around Raijin and Fuujin were standing in the main doorway to the hall.

"You know," Raijin said, "Fuujin was saying that it'd be your fault if Seifer didn't become SeeD."

Squall looked over to Fuujin who stared blankly back at him. Like he cared what she thought. He walked on into the hallway where Zell was pacing around.

"Sup," he said, "Said they're gonna be calling names out one at a time."

Squall nodded and leaned against the wall. He waited, listening absently to Zell's footsteps as he paced. After a while, A Garden Faculty member came in. He held a chart attached to a clipboard in his hands.

"Dincht," he said, "Zell Dincht."

Zell looked up. "OH YEAHHH!!!!" he shouted, jumping up into the air. He thrust his hands into his back pockets and practically skipped out the room.

The Garden Faculty Member paused and then said, "Squall. Squall from Squad A."

Squall got up from the wall and walked past him. Then the faculty said, "That is all. Dismissed."

Squall faintly heard three students snap their fingers in disappointment. He smiled to himself and got onto the elevator. It went up automatically, headed for the Headmaster's Office on the third floor.

When he got there, three other students were already lined up in front of Headmaster Cid's desk. He recognized Zell of course and he also noticed Selfie.

_So she did make it,_ he thought.

The other student he wasn't familiar with. It was a tall boy with short black hair and rather plain features. Squall lined up beside them and awaited for Headmaster Cid to begin what was most likely a congratulatory speech. Sure enough, Headmaster Cid began talkin to them about SeeD's mission.

Squall payed close attention when Headmaster Cid said, "SeeD is not just a mercenary force. I want you to go out and explore the world. I want you to see exotic sights and learn many things. SeeD is..."

"Sir," A Garden Faculty Member interrupted, "Don't forget the meeting."

The faculty turned to the students. "SeeD is an important aspect of Garden. Handle your missions with care." He looked over to Cid. "Is that what you wanted to say sir?"

Cid glared at the faculty member. Squall could tell he was desperately trying to maintain his composure. He walked up to each of the students, pinning a medal onto their outfits. As he did so, he leaned in and whispered something to each of them.

To the black headed boy he said, "Do your best, even if you don't stand out."

To Selfie he whispered, "I can't wait for the Garden Festival. Work hard."

To Zell he said, "Try to control your emotions a little."

Finally to Squall he said, "Finally a gunblade specialist."

Cid stepped back and smiled at them all like a proud father. "This ends the SeeD Inauguration. Dismissed."

They all saluted their Headmaster and walked back toward the elevator. When it landed, they all stepped off. Immediately, Zell and Selfie began running around in excitement.

"SeeD SeeD SeeD SeeD!!!" Selfie repeated happily.

Squall shook his head at them. "Come on Squall!" Zell said, "Let's got back to the classroom. New SeeDs always get to make a speech!"

Squall shrugged. The headed back to the 2F Hallway. They walked in and then stepped back in apprehension. Seifer, Raijin, and Fuujin were there waiting on them. Squall looked at them warily.

The Seifer started clapping. Raijin and Fuujin followed suite, congratulating them on their victory. The four students smile and walked on into the classroom.

Squall entered his Dorm where he was surprised to find Selfie waiting for him. She said, "They're holding a big dance for new SeeDs! Go and get changed into your new SeeD Uniform!" she said happily. She danced around in her own uniform, obviously ecstatic about being a SeeD.

He smiled and went into his room, closing the door behind him. He stripped out of the Cadet Uniform and switched over to the SeeD uniform. He didn't really like the way it felt. It was stiff and too stuffy. He shrugged. He walked back out.

"Lookin good!" Selfie said. Then she clapped her hands together, "Alright. Let's hit that PAH-TAY!!!"

Squall stood by the wall. A waitress came by and offered him a glass of White Wine. He accepted it and said, "Thank you."

She nodded and walked off. Then, Zell came rushing up to Squall. "Hey man!" he said. "This is so cool. We're SeeDs now! Aren't you excited?"

Squall looked at him. "Whatever," he said.

Zell's shoulders slumped. "Ah well. Same ole Squall. I guess even being a SeeD can't change you." He looked around a bit a spotted a table stand with Hot Dogs. He smiled. "Well, see you!"

He ran off. Squall lifted his glass up and took a sip. In truth the stuff tasted aweful.

Selfie came walking up to him. "Hi Squall!" she said. "Hey, I was wondering. I know we'll be busy with SeeD stuff now and everything, but would you like to join the Garden Festival Committee?"

Squall looked at her. She was really enthusiastic about it. He decided he might as well entertain her. "Sure," he said.

"Oh great!" she said. "Let's work really hard on it together! Thanks so much! Bye!!!"

She walked off. He heard her a little later saying, "Hey Zell!"

He turned and chuckled a little to see Zell walking off. He sighed and looked up to the clear skylight over the dancefloor. A shooting star streaked across the sky. He followed it's flight down and then caught sight of a girl with black hair wearing a white dress standing in the middle of the floor. She had been watching the star too.

She looked right at him and smiled. She pointed up, referring to the star. He shrugged and looked at her a bit. She smiled and came walking over to him.

"Hi," she said. He didn't say anything. She looked at him for a bit. "You know," she said, "You're the best looking guy here. Dance with me?"

He didn't reply, but took a sip of his wine instead. She looked at him, unwavered. "Let me guess," she said, "You'll only dance with someone you know?"

He looked her in the eyes.

"Okay," she said. She pulled off her necklace and dangled in front of his eyes, swinging it back and forth. "You're going to like me. You're going to like me..."

She stopped. "Did it work?"

He shook his head. "I can't dance," he explained.

"Oh you'll be fine," she said grabbing his hand. She began pulling him reluctantly onto the dancefloor. "I'm looking for someone and I can't be on the floor alone."

He barely had time to place his wineglass on a passing tray before the music started. The girl placed one of his hands on her hip and grabbed his other. She placed her other hand on his shoulder. Then she began to lead, trying to teach him to dance.

He wasn't lying. He was a terrible dancer. He was stumbling all over the place. Finally he got the basic step down. She got into the dancing so much that she forgot she was with an amateur. He was an excellent learner after all. She swung out, catching him off guard, so that when she returned he slammed into her.

He looked at her and his face flushed red. "I'm outta here," he said.

He turned to walk back to the wall, but she grabbed his hand and backed back onto the floor. "It's okay," she said. She looked into his eyes and replaced his hand. They began dancing again, but much to her dismay, they crashed into a nearby couple. The guy looked at her and Squall as if he were about to say something. The girl stuck her tongue out at him and turned back to Squall. She gave him a reassuring smile and they began to dance one more.

Finally, Squall got the hang of it. He really was a fast learner. He and her were dancing right in time with the others. The dance ended while Squall and the girl were pulled close. She looked into his eyes and he looked back at her. A loud bang drew them away from each other as they looked up to see fireworks filling the sky.

The girl looked at the fireworks with a sparkle in her eye. She lowered her eyes and then spotted someone over Squall's shoulder.

"There he is," the girl said. She looked at Squall as she backed away from him. "Thanks for everything," she said.

She walked off, leaving Squall on the dancefloor alone with a bewildered look.


	7. Chapter 7: Quistis' Feelings

"Quistis' Feelings"

Squall walked out onto the balcony outside of the ballroom. He stood looking around. Who was the girl he had just met?

He heard footsteps from behind him. He turned to see Quistis walking up. She was dressed in a beautiful violet gown with a floral design on it. "You are truly an excellent student," Quistis said. "Even that dance was perfect."

Squall looked down over the balcony at the ground below. "Thank you," he said.

She stood they, looking around. She pulled a light purple shawl around her and walked up to the balcony. Squall sighed. "What?" he asked.

"So you'll dance with a complete stranger, yet you can't stand being around me?" she asked.

He thought about it. He had always known she had some kind of feelings for him. Ever since he had first come to Garden she had clung to him. "I am a student and you're my instructor," he said, "It's really weird when you don't say anything."

Quistis nodded. She understood completely. If only he could understand her. That brought her situation to her mind.

"I wonder what's to become of me," she said.

"What do you mean?" Squall asked.

She looked at him and smile. "I want you to get changed and meet me in front of the Training Center. This will be my last order."

Squall looked at her worriedly. "What do you mean last?"

She shook her head. "I just have a lot on my mind."

He nodded and headed off toward his dorm room. He arrived and began changing. _What could this be about?_ He wondered.

He walked out of the room and went to the Training Center. Quistis was inside, waiting on him.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Squall, I was wondering. Have you fought T-Rexaur in the Training Center yet?"

Squall looked thoughtfully. "I don't think so," he said.

"It's really quite easy if you junction your magic correctly," Quistis said. "By junctioning Sleep to your status attack, you can damage the T-Rexaur and put it to sleep at the same time. This will make the battle much easier."

He nodded. Quistis had junctioned Siren as her GF. She nodded to him and they walked into the Training Center.

"Be careful," he told her. She waved him off and kept her hand on her belt.

"Follow me," Quistis said. She began walking through the Training Center. Suddenly, the plants rustled and three plant fiends, called Grats, appeared.

"Remember," Quistis said, "Plant fiends are weak against cold."

Squall nodded. He closed his eyes and then thrust out his hand. Ice crystals gathered up into one huge piece and slammed down onto one of the monsters. It fell back and crumpled up. Suddenly, a rumbling came from deep within one of the creatures. It belched out a dark green fluid that struck Quistis, burning her. She cried out but crawled back to her feet.

Suddenly, Quistis was surrounded by a powerful aura. She thrust her hands out behind her and purple sonic waves flew out from her body. It struck the plant creatures and they both crumpled up. Even parts of the Training Center were damaged.

Squall looked at her in amazement. "What was that!?" he asked.

"Blue magic," Quistis said. "It's skills learned from enemies. I learned how to master it when I first came to Garden. That attack was called 'Ultra Waves'."

Squall nodded in understanding. He went to walk off.

"Wait," Quistis said.

"What?" Squall asked.

She junctioned sleep to her status attack and then said, "Ok."

He nodded and they walked on. They neared a door with a glowing light. That was strange. Squall had never seen it there before.

"That's our destination," Quistis said.

Squall nodded again. Suddenly, as they approached the door, a loud rumbling sound came from the deep hole in the middle of the Training Center. It grew louder and louder until a large dinosaur looking fiend appeared.

"And that would be T-Rexaur," she added.

Squall looked up in amazement at the towering creature.

"Keep in mind," Quistis said, "That sometimes it's better to run."

He nodded to her. Quistis swung her whip and snapped it hard. The T-Rexaur flinched in pain. Then it's eyelids grew heavy as the Sleep spell began to over take it. It slumped to the ground asleep.

"Now Squall," Quistis said, "Use magic!"

Squall nodded and cast Blizzard. It gathered over the sleeping monster and then slammed down. The T-Rexaur flinched but did not wake up as the Sleep spell was undisturbed. Quistis cast Thunder and a bolt of lightning struck the creature.

Squall then cast scan on the creature. It still had a massive amount of health left. Quistis looked over to him.

"I'll use the GF," she said.

She closed her eyes as she was surrounded by a powerful aura. She thrust her hands out. The area was suddenly covered by crashing waves. They struck the T-Rexaur and swept it out into a deep sea of purple. Out in the middle of the ocean, a figure sat on a rock.

Golden wings covered her face. The area was dark. Suddenly, the sun streaked through the clouds and lit up the figure. She unfolded her wings revealing a beautiful face. Siren played her harp and magical waves of music flew out from it. It tore through T-Rexaur, casting silence upon it before ending its life. Siren disappeared.

"Ok," Quistis said. She nodded to Squall and they approached the glowing door. They entered. Suddenly, they were in a room outside of the Garden. It was a magically created space Squall realized. Quistis walked onto the deck and peered out at the Garden.

"This is where students meet up after hours," Quistis said.

"So we're here to tell them they're violating curfew?" Squall asked, "If so then forget it. We can leave that up to the Disciplinary Committee."

Quistis laughed a little too herself and shook her head. "I just wanna talk."

He nodded and leaned on the balcony on which they stood. He was waiting for her to begin talking. He wondered what this was about.

"What time is it?" Quistis asked.

"Around midnight," Squall answered.

"Oh," Quistis sighed. She put her head down into her arms. She looked up at him and then out across the night sky.

"As of now, I Quistis Trepe, am no longer an instructor. I'm a SeeD member just like you. Maybe we'll even be on a mission together sometime."

Squall said nothing. He put his hands in his pockets and leaned further on the balcony.

Quistis sighed and looked down at the forest below them. "They said that I failed as an instructor and that I showed no leadership qualities. They took away my license and demoted me."

Squall shook his head. "If that's their decision, then you have to abide by it."

Quistis sighed. "I guess. It's just that, I tried the best I could. I did everything I knew how. I just..." She looked at Squall who had turned his back and was staring off into space absently.

"Are you even listening to me?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I don't like getting involved with other people's problems."

She looked at him pleadingly. "I'm not asking you to get involved," Quistis said, "I just wanted someone to listen."

He looked at her, no emotion showing on his face. "Then go talk to a wall,"

She was struck by his words. She watched as he walked through the glowing portal and back into the Training Center.

Talking to herself she said, "Failed Instructor. No leadership qualities. Perhaps they were right..."

Squall was walking through the Training Center when Quistis caught back up to him. They began walking once more. Suddenly, a scream echoed out through the Training Center.

"Help!!!" came a voice.

"Come on Squall!" Quistis said. She ran out the door into the foyer of the center. Squall came in quickly behind her.

A large insect creature had a girl trapped against the opposite door. Squall realized it was the same girl form the Infirmary.

"Squall help me," the girl said.

The insect neared the girl and desperately she said, "Squall," then she noticed Quistis and said, "Quisty?"

Squall drew his gunblade. Hearing the sound the creature turned to face them. Suddenly the ground rumbled and three stone like creatures rose up.

"These aren't supposed to be in the Training Center," Quistis said.

She closed her eyes. She summoned Siren out. As Siren performed Silent Voice, the insect creature flew out of range. The waves of music struck the stone creatures and they fell away dead.

Squall eyed the creature warily. Then he decided to end the fight. He wanted to question the girl and find out how she knew him. He summoned Shiva. She broke out of her ice pillar and shot a huge blast of arctic energy at the insect. It froze up entirely. It fell to the ground and shattered. Squall sheathed his gunblade and turned to face the girl.

Men dressed in white were helping her to her feet.

"Come along," they said, "It's not safe here."

They bowed to Squall and Quistis and walked the girl out of the room.

Quistis watched them leave and said, "I wonder who that was?"

Squall shrugged and headed out. Quistis followed him. She stopped him before he left and said, "You know, not everyone can get by on their own."

She walked off.

"Whatever," he said and went back to his Dorm Room. "I guess I'll go to sleep," he said. He crawled into bed and before long he had drifted off.


	8. Chapter 8: First Mission

"First Mission"

Squall awoke to the sound of someone knocking on his new door. Before he had entered the dorms last night, Zell had stopped him in the Hallway.

"I've been looking everywhere for you man," Zell said. "I was supposed to tell you. Now that we're SeeD members, we got new rooms."

Squall got up and sat on the edge of the bed. Then he heard Selfie's voice. "Get up Squall," she said, "We got our first SeeD mission. Meet by the Front Gate in 30min."

Squall got dressed and headed out. He noticed a Weapons Monthly on his desk as he walked by, but he did not have time to look through it. He did want to check out the latest gunblade model when he got back though. He thought the other weapons were pretty cool too.

He walked around the large circle and headed out past the directory. Was it just him, or was the directory not working anymore? He walked down a flight of stairs in the Garden's central foyer and stopped in front of the gates where Selfie, Headmaster Cid, and a Garden Faculty member waited.

After waiting awhile, the Faculty looked down at a watch and said, "One minute."

Suddenly, a whirring noise could be heard. The small group turned to see Zell flying in on a strange hovering board. Its lights faded and Zell kicked it up like a skateboard.

"T-boards are prohibited within Garden," the faculty said.

"I know," Zell said, "but this is really cool. Who knows? Maybe it'll come in handy on a SeeD mission one day."

"We'll be the judges of that," the faculty said, "Confiscate it."

Another Garden Faculty Member walked up and took the T-Board away, leaving Zell with a bemused look. Even as Headmaster Cid began explaining about their mission, Zell was watching as his T-Board was being carried away.

"The three of you will be going to Timber. There you will support a resistance faction."

The Garden Faculty member said, "When you arrive, a member will approach and say 'Oh the forests of Timber sure have changed.' At this time you must reply, 'But the Owls are still around."

The three nodded.

Headmaster Cid looked at them all. "We have agreed to do this mission for very little money."

Once again the group nodded. Cid sighed. "Dismissed," he said.

They turned to walk away. "Oh Squall," Cid said.

Squall turned around to look at him. Cid pulled out a satin bag. "I want to give you this," he said, "It is a cursed item, but if one with enough power uses it, it could be of great use."

Squall accepted the item. He joined Selfie and Zell at the Front Gate. They looked at the package curiously.

"What's that?" Selfie asked.

Squall unwrapped the small packaged. He was left holding a small lamp that was beautifully decorated.

"The Headmaster gave you...pottery?" Zell asked.

Squall shook his head. He looked the lamp over. There was nothing odd about it. It was just a long vase with a top pushed in like a cork. He decided to see what was inside. He wrenched the top free. Suddenly, a mist enshrouded the startled group and everything turned black.

Squall looked up. He could see light just above him. They were in a very dark space. The light from above only lit a small circle in the middle of the space. Suddenly, Squall could hear movement. Zell and Selfie were beside him.

A huge creature suddenly revealed itself. It was like something out of a nightmare. It was a demon like thing with red flesh and black armor plates all over it. A wicked helmet like structure sat upon it's head. Huge bat-like wings spanned out from the creature's back and a demonic tail hung down to the floor. The creature kept itself floating above the circle of light.

"Who disturbs my slumber?" it asked vehemently.

It looked upon the three. Receiving no answer, it angrily flew toward them. Selfie stumbled out of the way as its claws pierced the ground where she had just been standing.

Zell drew out a gravitational spell from the creature. It rushed forward and struck Squall hard. He fell down, blood dripping out from his chest.

"Cure," Selfie said, and the familiar green light surrounded Squall. The Zell leapt forward and cast the spell he had just drawn.

"Demi," he said. A bead of blackness formed in the center of the creature's body and began pulling in on itself. This greatly damaged the creature. Suddenly, the creature raised its hand. It was preparing to cast an even stronger Gravity magic.

A sudden pressure hit the group. It forced them down to the floor and thrust there bodies aside. They gasped in pain. Selfie crawled to her feet. She summoned up a great deal of energy. Then, the moved her nunchaku around in a particular motion. Then she thrust them upward and shouted, "Full Cure!"

A bright green and blue light shot down from nowhere and healed the damage caused by the Gravity attack. Squall leapt to his feet and a powerful aura surrounded him. He thrust out his hand. The ice pillar shot up and Shiva burst out of it. She eyed the creature warily.

She gathered her energy and shot out a wave of icy power at the creature. Its wings slowed as they became covered in ice. It was weighted down. Then the ice shattered away in a cold burst. The creature reeled. Zell cast Demi again. It did less damage this time. This meant that the creature had very little HP left.

Selfie summoned Ifrit. It launched the ball of Hellfire onto the creature, burning it badly. The creature let out a screech and launched itself at the retreating GF. It struck Ifrit hard, taking away health before the Guardian disappeared.

Squall decided it was enough before the beast casts another powerful Gravity spell. He ran forward, his gunblade glowing. He leapt up into the air and started spinning and slashing randomly. Then with a great force, he thrust the gunblade down. He leapt back away from the beast.

The creature sagged heavily in the air. "Too weak...too much sleep," it said. It crumpled onto the floor. "I will join you," It said. Squall looked around as the space began to vanish and once again they were standing in the halls of Garden.

He looked around. A new GF was junctioned under him; Diablos.

"Whew," Selfie said, "That thing was gross looking. I don't want to junction it."

Zell rolled his eyes at her and Squall thought how childish they both were.

"C'Mon. Let's go," Squall said.

They walked out of the Garden. They didn't notice as Quistis silently watched them go. She sighed.

_Be careful Squall,_ she thought. She was sure he wasn't aware of her feelings for him. If only she could let him know. But now that she wasn't his instructor, maybe she could. She brushed her long blonde hair back and turned back to Garden. She decided to go to the Detention Cell to check on Seifer. He didn't need to be alone. He was a troubled guy, but she had to admit that there was just something about him. She walked to the elevator and pressed the 2F button.


	9. Chapter 9: What?

"What!?"

Squall, Selfie, and Zell stood on the streets of Balamb. Selfie looked around. She yawned loudly.

"I'm board. Can't we just go get on the train now?" she said.

Squall looked at her. "Be patient," he said, "We need to prepare. Let's look around."

They walked a little ways until they reached the street corner. Squall looked at a house nearby. He decided to go in. Something was beckoning him there. He went to grab the door handle.

"Whoa!" Zell said, sliding in front of him. "What're you doin?"

Squall looked at him without expression.

"Look," Zell said, "This is my house. Don't make yourselves too comfortable."

Squall nodded and went inside. A lady was in the kitchen. She turned to them and smiled warmly.

"Zell," she said. She hugged him tightly. "How's my rowdy boy?"

"Mom..." he said. His face reddened visibly. Selfie giggled and Squall averted his eyes. He shrugged a little and back away.

"Oh," she said, "Are these your friends?"

"This is Selfie," he said, introducing the bubbly youth, "And this is Squall."

Squall nodded to her. He stood in the middle of the room with his arms crossed. Selfie began to look around curiously.

"Um...guys?" Zell asked. He wanted to stop them before they got too nosy.

_If they find that magazine,_ he thought. He decided it was time to go.

"Mom," he said, "We have an important mission to go on."

She nodded. "Here," she said, "Take this."

She pulled out a vial from the cabinet. It had a bluish liquid in it and magic swirled in its depths.

"But that's your only Hi-Potion," Zell said.

"Take it," she said sweetly. He nodded and then hugged her.

"Thanks Mom."

She returned the hug and he walked out of the door. Squall and Selfie looked at eachother and then followed him out. He turned down the street until his blush faded. Squall and Selfie came up behind him.

"Hey!!!" Selfie said. She pointed to a shop up ahead. A sword was drawn on the sign.

_Must be a Junk Shop_ Squall thought. Selfie had already ran up to the counter. She was talking to the man. Suddenly, she turned around and shuffled back towards them. She was pouting.

"What is it?" Squall asked impatiently.

"The man said I didn't have the right materials to upgrade my weapon..." she said sadly.

_Oh for the love of Pete_ Squall thought. He walked off, leaving her pouting face behind him. He heard Zell following behind him and Selfie finally walked along with them.

They passed the Hotel. The doors swung open and a man came storming out. Squall and the group watched him curiously and then entered the hotel.

"Who was that?" Squall asked the attendant.

"Some old drunkard," the woman said. "May I help you?"

"No thanks," Squall said. "We're just looking around before we leave for Timber."

"Timber!?" the woman said. "But that town is under Galbadian Occupation."

"We know," said Zell. They turned and walked back out of the Hotel. They looked at the Docks. Nothing was going on there. Just a dog sniffing around.

"Well," Squall said, "Let's get on the train."

The walked toward the Station. An officer dressed in green addressed them. He said, "It's 3,000 gil to ride the train."

They paid him and got on. Selfie immediately walked over to the door. "You have to use the keycard to get it open," she said.

Zell walked over to Squall and handed him the afore mentioned card. He slid it through a reader and the door to the rest of the train unlocked. Immediately Selfie ran through the door and began looking out the window.

"Let's check out the cabin," Zell said. He walked in, excited like a schoolboy. Squall sighed. How could he work on a mission with these two?

He walked in after Zell. Selfie was gazing out the window dreamily and humming to herself. He walked in a door to the left. Zell was on a purple couch bouncing up and down with excitement.

"This is so cool," Zell said.

"Well I'm glad you're so excited," Squall said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Zell stopped bouncing and glared at him. He looked around. His anger was forgotten as he noticed a slot on the side of the couch. He looked in it.

"Hey," he said, "They even have magazines here."

He fished through them and tossed one too Squall. Squall picked it up and looked at it. The cover read **Pet Pals Vol. I**.

Squall gave the magazine a disgusted look. Who would want a magazine published just about dogs?

The door slid open behind him. He turned to see Selfie walking in. He went and sat on the couch. She stood in the middle of the room. Something was very wrong.

"'Sup?" Zell asked.

"I feel tired," she said.

"If you're sleepy, you should lie down," Squall said.

She nodded and hit the couch with a thud. Zell jerked back. Suddenly, a swimmy sensation began to overwhelm him.

"W-what the?" he said, "I feel sleepy too."

He conked out on the couch.

"What's going on here?" Squall said. Suddenly a loud buzzing sound filled his ears. He gripped his head as a headache rushed in. He fell to the floor and darkness enveloped him.


	10. Chapter 10: Welcome to Your Dream

"Welcome to You Dream"

A man in Galbadian armor ran through the burning field. Fires caused by the gunfire and bombs. Two men followed him.

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Ward asked. Ward was a heavy set man with a bandana tie around his bald head. The man with long black hair turned around to him and smile assuredly.

"Of course," Laguna said.

"We're lost again," Kiros said. The dark skinned man walked up to join his colleagues. Suddenly, there was movement in the brush.

"Get ready," Laguna said. He drew out his machine gun. Ward drew a giant spear and Kiros drew out two sharp blades called Katals. A mushroom looking creature appeared followed by what appeared to be two giant scorpions.

"I thought we were supposed to be facing the almighty Timber Army," Kiros said, "Why are we wasting our time with these dumb animals.

Inside Kiros' head, Zell's voice thought _What's goin on? Why am I dreaming about this?_

Inside Ward, Selfie thought, _What happened. Am I dreaming? Who are these guys?_

Squall, not knowing the other two were present in the same "dream" imagined he dreamed he was Laguna. He was silent however, watching the events like a movie. He noticed that all of his GF's were junctioned to Laguna. How strange that he should dream that.

Laguna summoned out Diablos. The area became pitch black and screeching bats flew in. They crashed into each other, merging like liquid. They formed a large glowing ball of blackness above the field. Suddenly, Diablos came out of the orb.

He growled as he looked down at the monsters below him. He raised his hand. Bands of orange energy lowered the orb down onto his arm. He clenched his fist inside of it. He then flung the orb down with all of his might. It crashed down, pressing upon the monsters, flattening them. They screeched as they died.

Diablos vanished and Laguna was left victorious.

_Well that was really weird,_ Selfie though. _I'm probably having a nightmare because of that scary GF._

The three men walked on through the field. They came upon a small brook. Zell, Squall, and Selfie all wondered where they were and why they would be dreaming such odd things. Nevertheless, they thought as if they were conscious.

_I must have a wild imagination_ Zell thought. There was no way he could have thought up these three men. Especially them being Galbadian. Maybe it was the aftershocks of fighting in Dollet.

The men came upon a vehicle that was very odd looking. It reminded Squall of a tank.

"Ah, here we are," Laguna said, "Dieling City, here we come."

The men piled into the truck and drove out of the forest.They drove along a road and pulled into the large town of Dieling City. Laguna stopped the car and jumped out.

"Hey," Kiros said, "You can't park the car in the middle of the street!"

Zell chuckled to himself as his character spoke. What was this he was viewing? He decided (as did the others) that he would stop wondering and just watch his "dream" unfold.

Ward climbed out of the truck and followed the other two as they headed down a street. Selfie realized (even though Ward already knew) that they were heading for the hotel.

They entered. The clerk looked up and then with a smile calmly went back to writing.

_This Laguna and his crew must be frequenters of this hotel_ Squall thought. Laguna turned right and headed down a flight of stairs. Kiros and Ward followed him without question. They walked in and a waitress approached.

"Sir Laguna," she said, "Your usual table is ready."

_What?_ Squall wondered, forgetting that the waitress was talking to Laguna, and not him. Laguna had already thanked her and taken a seat.

"What will you be having?" the waitress asked.

"The usual," Laguna answered.

"Same," Kiros added.

"Keep 'em coming," Ward said.

The waitress walked off.

"Well Laguna," Kiros said, "Julia should be making an appearance soon."

_Who? _Squall wondered. Laguna just nodded.

Suddenly, he heard beautiful piano playing. He turned to see a girl with short brown hair dressed in a beautiful red gown playing the piano. Squall understood this to be Julia. How was his mind making all of this up?

He shrugged inwardly.

"Well," Kiros said, "Go talk to her."

"I can't," Laguna said, "I can't disturb her playing."

"So you say," Ward answered, "But we know you'll do it."

_I know,_ Squall thought, _This must be because of the girl I met at the dance. Her identity has been plaguing me. But why would I make up the soldiers and where did all these names come from?_

Laguna had gotten up and made his way toward the piano. The girl Julia looked up at him and smiled, but she was still fully concentrated on her playing.

**_She sure is beautiful_** Laguna thought. _This guy's a flop, _Squall thought.

Laguna stood there for a while, listening to Julia's playing. **_Ah, to be this close to her_** he thought.

Squall was sickened. _Is this guy forreal?_

Suddenly, a pain shot through Laguna's leg. It was cramping up. He clutched in pain and began to limp around, trying to coax the muscle to relax.

Kiros (Zell) and Ward (Selfie) watched from the table.

_Sad_ Zell thought, _He'll never score like that._

Laguna nodded to Julia and limped back to the table. Kiros and Ward nodded.

"A job well done," Ward said. _Yeah right,_ Selfie said.

"Well...ahhh," Kiros said.

"Um, we're gonna head off," Ward said.

"What's the rush?" Laguna asked. "Let's have a drink."

"Drinks are on us," Ward said. He and Kiros slinked off. Laguna shrugged. He turned and came face to face with Julia.

"I'm sorry," she said, "Did I interrupt?"

"N-No," Laguna answered. He slid over to let Julia sit down.

"You come here often," Julia said, "I'm glad you like to hear me play."

Laguna looked incredulous. "You saw me?"

_Busted _Squall thought.

"You were always smiling while listening," Julia said. Laguna blushed. Julia giggled a little. Then she bowed her head.

"Listen," she whispered, "Let's talk in my room. There are too many people listening in here."

Laguna looked up to see that, indeed, there were people crowded near the booth. He nodded to her.

"Ask for my room at the counter," she said.

She got up from the table and walked off. Laguna breathed deeply.

**_Time to calm Julia with my manly charm_** Laguna thought.

_This guy talks to himself too much_ Squall thought.

Laguna went up the stairs and approached the front desk. "Whi...whi.." he stuttered.

_Is he really going?_ Squall wondered.

"Ah Mr. Loire," the attendant said, "Ms. Julia is expecting you. Please, this way."

He followed the attendant to a room. It was number 203. The attendant left him at the door. He waited a while before knocking. Julia answered the door.

"Come in," she said.

He nodded and entered the hotel room. She looked at him, gazing into his eyes. He walked around. He went over to the bed and sat down. Then he shook his head and got back up. He walked over to Julia.

"Surely you're not leaving already?" Julia asked.

"N-No," Laguna answered, "It's just I'm a big fan and I'm really nervous."

"Don't be," Julia said, "I don't bite. I just wanna talk. Would you like something to drink? Wine perhaps?"

He nodded. She fixed two glasses and gave him one. He sipped at it gradually as he spoke. He began to ramble on about how his dream was to quit the army and become a writer. He talked and talked and talked.

_Man,_ Squall thought, _he's really loosened up._

"So..uh, what was I saying?" Laguna asked.

Julia smiled as he caught back up with his story. He lied down and continued to talk. She sat by him, patiently listening. After a while, he drifted off to sleep. Suddenly, he jerked back up. Julia was standing near a table.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I didn't know wine made you sleepy."

He kicked himself for talking about himself too much. He looked up. Surely she must think him an obnoxious pig now.

"Julia," he said.

"Yes?"

"Tell me about yourself. What are your dreams for the future?"

Julia smiled. "I...I want to sing," she said, "Not just play the piano. I'd like to sing too."

"I'd love to come and hear you!" Laguna said.

She nodded. She turned to him. "You're kind," she said. She walked over. He stood up from his seat on the bed. She grabbed his hand and gazed into his eyes.

"This is gotta be a dream," he said.

"It's not, is it?" Julia asked.

He gazed at her and leaned in. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. They jumped and looked toward it. Kiros' voice came through from the other side.

"Orders from General Caraway. Move out,"

Laguna sighed. "I'll come back."

"You promise?" Julia asked.

"Of course," he answered, "I gotta hear you sing."

There was the sound of a train whistle blowing suddenly. Squall opened his eyes. He was lying on the floor of the SeeD cabin. He leaned up as the dream faded.


	11. Chapter 11: Timber

"Timber"

An announcement came over the intercom of the train.

"We will be arriving in Timber shortly."

Squall looked up at it. He crossed his arms and leaned against the bed in the cabin.

"So we were all asleep?" Zell asked.

Squall nodded. "Maybe it was knockout gas. SeeD has many enemies."

They all sat in silence for a while. Selfie looked at them.

"Hee," she said, "I had such a wonderful dream."

_I dreamt too,_ Squall thought, _but it wasn't wonderful. I dreamt I was a moron._

"But seriously," Selfie said, "That Sir Laguna guy was so cool,"

_Huh!? _Squall thought.

"Wait a minute," Zell said, "There was a Laguna in my dream too. He's a Galbadian Soldier right?"

Squall looked around and then stared at the floor. Was it possible? "Laguna, Kiros, and Ward," he said.

"That's it!" Zell said.

"That's what?" Squall asked.

"Look," Selfie said, "There's no way we can figure this out. Let's just concentrate on our mission."

"Right," Squall said, "Let's put this incident on hold. I'll report it to the Headmaster when we get back."

The all nodded. Then, as if planned on time, the train eased to a stop. They had arrived in Timber. Squall got off the train and the others followed. He looked around. The color blue stood out to him. He proceeded down the steps. Suddenly, a man in an orange jacket came up.

"Oh," the man said, "The Forests of Timber sure have changed."

_What was the answer?_ Squall thought. He looked at them and then back to the guy.

"But the owls are still around," he answered.

The guy nodded. "Welcome to Timber sir. Please, this way."

The guy ran across the train tracks, followed by Squall and the others. The came upon a platform and waited. Soon, a weird looking train came along. It was definitely not one of the usual trains that made their way through Timber.

They boarded the train. Immediately, a guy with black hair wearing a Blue jacket greeted them. "Thank you for accepting this mission," he said, "I'm Zone."

Zone looked over to the guy in the orange jacket and said, "You've already met Watts. I guess that only leaves our Princess."

_Princess?_ Squall thought, _Are these guys on something?_

"It's the Princess' naptime sir," Watts said.

"Oh geeze," Zone said slumping, "Look I'm sorry about this, but could you go get her?"

Squall looked at the man as if he were an idiot. "Excuse me?"

Zone jumped back. Squall had raised his voice and had an annoyed look on his face. "Are you mad?" he asked.

"We're SeeD's," he said, "Not gophers. Were we hired just to run errands?"

Zone backed up. Watts looked over at him and sighed heavily.

Squall shook his head. "This is the last time for this kinda thing," Squall said.

He walked past Zell and Selfie. "You tell 'em," Selfie said, "They can't treat us like that."

"The Princess is in the last room down that hallway," Watts said, "If you need help, our guys in the back should be able to help you."

Squall walked off without saying anything. He looked around the small train. _These guys just don't have it together,_ he thought.

He passed by what he thought to be the control room for the train. A few guys were crowded around in there. Deciding he didn't need their assistance, he walked on past .He came to the end of the corridor where an exit sign stood. He turned to the right and came into view of a large room. It was so pink it sickened him.

He walked into the room, looking around. His attention was drawn over to the bed where a figure slept soundly. She was dressed in a light blue outfit and hard dark black hair. Suddenly the train came to a screeching halt. Squall tried as best he could to steady himself, but resulted in crashing to the floor.

The girl turned over and sat up sleepily. Squall crawled to his feet dusting himself off. He stood and turned to look at the girl.

_No way!_ He thought. There in front of him was the girl from the dance.

"Hey," she said, "You're, you know, from the party."

She smiled warmly. A vision of his clumsy dancing filled her head. "So does that mean you're a SeeD?"

He nodded. "So that's why you were at the party. To speak to Headmaster Cid."

She shook her head, biting her lip a bit. "You know Seifer?"

_Yeah, I know him_ Squall thought bitterly. He nodded in silence.

"He introduced me to Cid," she said happily, "Cid is such a nice man."

Squall nodded. The girl looked around thoughtfully. She looked behind Squall with an anxious look.

"Is he here?" she asked.

Squall looked at her. How was he supposed to know who "he" was?

"Seifer," the girl said, as if reading his mind.

"No," Squall said, "He's not a SeeD."

"Oh," the girl said. She looked as if that upset her some. She walked over to a vanity near a wall. She started looking through her perfumes and makeup. Squall wondered if she was close to Seifer somehow. What else would explain the way she was acting?

He walked over to her. "I'm going back to the others now," he said.

"Okay," the girl said, "Let's go."

She walked out of the room. Suddenly she came running back in, "Oh yeah, my name's Rinoa."

"I'm Squall," he said. She smiled that same smile of hers. She turned around to see a collie dog walking into the room. Squall looked down at it and shook his head.

"Oh," Rinoa said, "This is my partner, Angelo. He's really smart. Here, let me show you,"

She fell down and acted injured. Suddenly the dog ran and the came back in and threw a potion to her. She got back to her feet.

"See," she said, "I told you."

He nodded. They walked out of the room and headed down the hall. Then a thought struck Squall.

"Hey Rinoa," he said.

She turned around to look at him. "Yes?"

"I thought you might like to have this," he said, pulling out a magazine. It was the Pet Pals that Zell had given him.

"Oh cool!" Rinoa said, "Thanks."

She took the magazine and started flipping though it. Happy, she put it in her room and they continued down the hall. They reached the front end of the train where the group was waiting patiently. Squall led Rinoa into the room.

"This is Selfie," Squall said pointing to her, "and this is Zell."

"Hi guys," Rinoa said, "Well, shall we get started? The Conference room is just through here. Talk to Watts when you're ready."

She walked through a door beside the stairs. Squall and the group looked at each other. Selfie shrugged and Zell looked down at the floor. This was truly an unprofessional group they were working with.

The talked to Watts and then entered the conference room. Inside, Rinoa was looking over a table. A model train set was set atop it. Zone was standing near a bulletin board posting up clippings of some man.

"Okay," Rinoa said. "Here's our problem. President Dieling is oppressing Timber and keeping it occupied with soldiers. Our plan is to kidnap the President and..err...talk him in to relinquishing his rule."

"The president is planning to come to Timber to make a live T.V. announcement," Watts said, "but we believe there is more to it than that."

The group nodded. "Do how do you plan on going about this?" Squall asked.

"Come over here," Rinoa said,

Squall walked over to the table. He was now looking closer at the train model.

"This," Rinoa said, pointing to a yellow train car at the top, "Is our base. And this is the dummy car designed to looked like the President's car."

She pointed to a train car attached to the yellow Base. The she moved over to a much longer train at the bottom.

"This is the train the president will be on. It consists of the locomotive, 2 guard cars, and the president's car." She pointed out each as she said them.

"The guard cars are connected to the rest of the train by coupling. We have codes located on an access panel at the bottom of each. By uncoupling each car, we can separate the train and move in."

The group nodded, absorbing the information she had just given them. She looked at each, and after confirming their understanding, she continued.

"First we uncouple the second guard car. Squall, you and me will do this."

On the model, she unhooked the second guard car from the train.

"After the first uncoupling, our base and the dummy car will move in at the first junction point."

She moved in the base and the dummy car and connected it to the rest of the train.

"Our base has a special arm that will grab the second guard car and keep it moving with the rest of the train."

She pushed the second guard car up to the base.

"Then we will move across the president's car to the first guard car. We will uncouple that one as well."

She took apart the first guard car.

"The locomotive will move that car and our base will be powering the rest of the train. Now comes the tricky part. At the second junction, Selfie and Zell will need to be ready to flip the switch for the tracks. The locomotive and the first guard car will pass straight through. Then they should flip the switch. Our base will detach it self from the second guard car which is then attached to the dummy car. It will turn right at the junction escaping with the president's car. Then the second guard car's momentum will connect it with the rest of the train."

"It's very complicated," Squall said.

"And we have a limited time allotment too," Watts said.

"Wait," Zell said, "What about the guards? Won't they know the dummy car's a fake? And shouldn't security be high?"

"That's where I come in," Rinoa said, "While Squall uncouples each guard car, I'll be keeping a lookout for him and warn him when a guard is approaching. Also, for the dummy car, we had a mechanic design a dummy president. It even talks when someone nears it."

Zell nodded. These guys had really thought this out. Maybe they weren't as disorganized of a team as they seemed.

The brakes on the Base initiated suddenly. "We're stopping," Rinoa said, "I'll go check it out."

She ran out of the room. Zone and Watts stood by the door patiently awaiting her return. Selfie and Zell looked at Squall and he walked over to join them.

"Isn't this kinda risky?" Selfie asked.

Squall shrugged. "We are SeeDs. Many of our missions will be risky. We have to always be prepared for the worst."

They both nodded. They all turned as Rinoa came in.

"We're going to be coming up on the President's car soon. Talk to Watts when you're ready. Please hurry."

The group looked at each other and nodded. They went over to Watts.

"Good luck sir," Watts said.

Squall and the others followed Rinoa back to the end of the hallway, next to her bedroom. Angelo came running out.

"No," Rinoa said, "You stay here."

The dog whimpered a bit and walked off. Rinoa nodded to the rest of the group and opened the door that said exit. They went out onto the deck of the base and turned. A ladder was beside the door. Rinoa climbed up and the others followed.

The walked across the roof of the train.

"Okay," Rinoa said, watching as the other train traveled beside theirs, "We're gonna jump across. Time your jumps well."

She readied herself and leaped across as the other train neared. Squall and Zell jumped as well. Zell's foot hit the edge a little and he gasped, but made it safely to the other train. Selfie backed up a bit. She ran and leapt.

Suddenly, the train pulled ahead. Selfie shrieked as she vanished from the others' sights.

"No!" Squall said.

Suddenly, he saw fingertips clinging to the edge. Selfie was holding on. Zell and Squall ran over and helped her up. She gasped and was visibly shaken.

"I'm alright," she said as Zell stooped over her, "Let's continue the mission."

The ran up the guard car.

"Zell, Selfie," Rinoa said, "Watch for guards as I relay the codes to Squall."

The nodded. They ran over to the windows. A guard dressed in blue and a larger guard dressed in red stood in the cabin. They each watched one.

Squall pulled out the cable Rinoa had given him and climbed down the side of the car. He held on to the cable with one hand and opened a panel just below the door with the other. The panel had shapes instead of numbers, but Rinoa had already explained:

Circle1

Crisscross2

Square3

Triangle4

Squall waited patiently as Rinoa looked at her paper.

"The code is 2234," Rinoa said. Squall punched it in. A beep insued and the screen read:

Two Codes Remaining

"4213," Rinoa said.

Squall entered in the number.

Two Codes Remaining

Suddenly, Selfie shouted, "Hey, the red!!!"

Squall pulled on the cable and was hoisted back to the roof of the car. He and Rinoa watched as the guard came to the window of the door. He held a gun in his hand. He looked out the window and looked around. Then he returned to his post.

Squall was just about to go back down when Zell said, "The blue!"

Squall waited as the guard came and repeated the other's actions. After the guard left, Squall went back down to put in the last code.

"3421," Rinoa said. He punched it in. The screen read Confirmed. Squall hoisted himself back up onto the roof. He and the others watched as the mechanism between the cars released the locks and the train began to leave the guard car behind. The Base flew by beside them. The tracks were already switched ahead and the Based sped onto the track in front of them. It braked a little to let the guard car connect and then sped up to attach to the rest of the train.

"Let's move," Rinoa said. They crawled across the front of the car.

"Okay," Rinoa said, "Selfie, Zell, I want you to reenter the base. Watts has a cable car ready for you. Get on it and drive ahead to the next junction."

They both nodded. They climbed back down the ladder on the base. Rinoa nodded to Squall and they crossed the President's car. The went across the other Guard Car.

"Okay," Rinoa said, "This one takes 5 codes to uncouple. I'll try to look out for you as best as I can."

Squall nodded. He threw the cable down and slid down.

"2222," Rinoa said. Squall entered it as fast as possible. He looked up to the windows. He didn't see any guards.

"1342," Rinoa called down. He punched it in quickly.

Rinoa looked over. "Squall, the guards are coming."

He pulled the cable and then went up to the roof. Rinoa looked at him and nodded. He watched as both guards came to the window, looked around, and then disappared again. He went back down the cable.

"4321," Rinoa said. He entered the code and waited for another.

"1234," she said. He punched the number in. He heard footsteps, but Rinoa wasn't paying attention. He pulled the cable and shot past the window just as the guard got there. Luckily though, the guard didn't see him. The guard took a moment to light a cigarette.

"We don't have much time left," Rinoa said.

The guard looked out the window and then walked away.

"Go," Rinoa said.

Squall flew down the cable.

"3321," she said. He punched it in. The screen blinked and there was a small click. Squall climbed back up the cable. The mechanism once again unlocked. The locomotive plowed ahead with the guard car and Rinoa and Squall leapt from it to the President's car.

The tracks moved into place as Zell hit the switch. The Base and The President's car moved over to the other track. The base released its mechanical arm and the other guard car, now attached to the dummy car flew past. The tracks had been switched back over just in time by Selfie.

The other train sped down the tracks and the base braked to allow Zell and Selfie to get back on. Rinoa and Squall climbed off of the roof and entered the base.

"Now," Rinoa said, "After all these years. It's time to start negotiations with the President."

Squall nodded. He checked to make sure his GF's were equipped and followed Rinoa through the door. She walked down the hallway with ease.

_This girl's very headstrong_ Squall thought.

She opened the door and burst into the room. The president sat at a table drinking a coffee.

"Who are you?" he asked turning around.

Immediately Squall knew something was wrong. The "president" was acting way too comfortable for a group of strangers to have just busted into his private train.

"President Vinzer Dieling," Rinoa said, "We have something to talk about. Don't make any sudden moves and you wont be hurt."

The president sighed and set his coffee cup down. "And what would you do," he said, standing to his feet, "if I did, young lady?"

Rinoa caught sight of his face then. It was marred on one side by a sickening scar.

"Who are you?" Rinoa said backing away. Squall and the others moved to stand between her and the false president.

"Ah," the man said, "my butt hurts after all this sitting."

"Where is the president?" Rinoa asked from behind the SeeDs.

"It's amazing what people will listen to," the man said, "especially after rumors of resistance groups spreading all over Timber. You pass a little false information along and they are bound to reveal themselves."

Rinoa looked at the group before her. They now had there weapons drawn.

"I've had enough of this," the man said, "How dare you insult the president!?"

He launched forward and latched onto Selfie. She shrieked as he tried to bite her. She shoved him off and a bolt of lightning struck the train's floor near his feet.

She turned to Zell who had just cast the magic. Squall ran up and swung his gunblade at the man. He hit his arm and the limb fell off. Suddenly, it smoked up and dissipated into goo. Rinoa looked up in horror as the man's skin started melting off.

It smoked as it hit the floor and soon the whole car was filled with the sickening stench. Rinoa coughed and tried to see through the smoke. Suddenly, it cleared and before them was a horrible sight. A zombie looking creature stood before them. It had a deformed hand and foot, both like clubs. It roared and acid dripped from its mouth.

Rinoa gasped and backed into a wall.

"What...is...it?" Selfie asked. The thing lurched forward and they all took a battle stance.


	12. Chapter 12: Trouble in a Small Town

"Trouble in a Small Town"

The creature raised its deform hand and bashed Zell to the side. He smashed into a table and crumpled to the floor. Selfie gasped and cast Cure on Zell. As the green light washed over Zell's body, the creature backed away violently.

"What the?" Squall asked. Suddenly, he remembered when Quistis had taught him about undead creatures.

_When fighting and undead creature, the most effective way to defeat it is by using curative spells or items or by holy magic._

He cleared his head again. "Zell," Squall said, "Cast cure on the creature."

"What!?" Zell asked.

"Just do it!" Squall said. Zell reluctantly cast the spell. The creature howled as the green light hit its skin. It sizzled a little. Rinoa looked up with her eyes wide. Curative things could hurt it?

She knew what she had to do. Squall watched in confusion as she confidently walked past him. She pulled a vial from a pocket. He spotted some red substance inside and immediately knew what she was up to.

She threw the vial, containing Phoenix Down, at the creature. It shattered and the down let out an intensive light. I shown with all the life giving powers of the Phoenix and swarmed over the undead creature. The creature screamed in outrage and fell to the floor dead.

Rinoa turned and nodded to the group. They nodded in return and walked out the door. The mission had failed and they all knew it.

"Well," Rinoa said, returning to the conference room. "We'll need to come up with another plan."

Watts came rushing in. "Got some new info sir."

Rinoa turned expectantly to him. "The President arrived safely in Timber. He's going to the T.V. station."

Rinoa nodded. "Okay, Let's come up with a plan."

Zone, Watts, and Rinoa sat down on the floor of the conference room and began talking very quietly.

_Oh come on,_ Squall thought, _What kind of organization plops down on the floor to discuss strategy? _He looked over to Selfie and Zell. Zell was wearing a very annoyed expression. Squall walked over.

Rinoa turned and said, "Oh good. Just in time. Here's the new plan..."

"Wait," Squall said. "Could we see your contract with our Garden first?"

Rinoa looked to him, then over his shoulder at Zell and Selfie who nodded silently.

"Okay," she said. She felt kind of stung that they didn't trust her and her group. Why did they need proof?

She pulled out a paper and handed it to Squall who snatched it away irrately.

_He didn't have to do that,_ Rinoa thought.

He read over it. Seemingly satisfied, he handed it back to her. He turned to Selfie and Zell and nodded.

"Okay," Rinoa said, "Here's what we're gonna do. We're going to Timber and go into the T.V. Station. We'll look over the situation, locate Dieling, and go from there."

Squall nodded, as did the others. The followed her down the hall. She went into the control room.

"Return to Timber," she told them.

The put the train into motion. Rinoa and the others returned back to her bedroom.

"Well guys," she said, "I'm sorry. We had no idea that the president was a fake."

"It's ok," Selfie said.

Rinoa looked at her and smiled warmly.

"So," Zell said, "What do we do now?"

"We wait," Rinoa said.

She sat down on her bed and began looking through the book Squall had given her. She found and interesting article on a special skill dogs could learn called Invisible Moon. She decided to learn it and teach it to Angelo.

Squall stood over by the door silently brooding. That was some strange creature they had fought. And it was intelligent enough to pretend to be a person. What could that mean?

Zell had taken up to practicing his moves over in a corner. He didn't tell any of them, but he learned a lot of his moves from a tutorial magazine called Combat King. He had read an interesting article on the Dolphin Blow, which cultivated the power of water in a strike.

Selfie decided she would look through Rinoa's perfume to see if she found any she liked. She looked over her vanity and looked in the mirror. Her hair was in disarray, so she began to smooth it out.

Then the train came to a stop.

"Okay," Rinoa said, getting up from her bed, "We're here."

The walked out. The went to the main room of the Base and stopped to see Watts and Zone waiting on them.

"Good luck sir," Watts said.

"Me and Watts are gonna gather information and keep you updated," Zone said.

Rinoa nodded and then turned to them.

"Okay," she said, "So who's going to the T.V. Station?"

Squall turned. Selfie was most likely still shaken up from the train mission, so he chose Zell. While Selfie wasn't in the party, Her GF was junctioned to Rinoa. Selfie went with Zone and Watts to gather information and Squall, Rinoa, and Zell headed off to the T.V. station.

"The city is still occupied by soldiers," Rinoa said, "So be ready to fight."

Zell and Squall nodded.

"We need to restock our magic," Squall said.

Rinoa nodded as well. The walked off of the train platform and headed straight. They decided to take their time to look around while they were there. It was possible that they may not be coming back to Timber. They didn't tell Rinoa this of course.

The came up on a building that said Timber Maniacs.

"What's this?" Zell asked.

"It's a magazine company," Rinoa said, "They publish articles from aspiring authors."

"Let's look inside," Zell said. They went in. A lady in white stood at a window in the front. She admitted them through. They went inside and looked around. Squall noticed the Fight Series, a magazine that he had already read every article of.

They went into a small room to the left. Inside, Squall sensed a Draw Point, a natural space where magic gathered. He drew from the point, gaining several Blizzaga spells. It was the strongest of the Ice magic other than Shiva's attack.

After that, there was nothing else useful inside the building, so they left. The walked on a little ways more. The walked down the stairs toward a pub called the Aurora Pub. According to Rinoa, they had to pass through this pub to get to the T.V. station.

They got to the bottom of the steps and stopped. Two Galbadian soldiers were harassing a civilian. They took something from him and then shoved him to the side.

"Heh heh," one soldier said, "These country hicks are too easy."

"Hey!" Rinoa said.

They turned to look at her. They drew their swords and began to approach. Rinoa extended her arm, revealing a weapon unlike Squall had ever seen. She pulled back a tab like a bow and then released it. A blade flew out and struck the shoulder in the neck, killing him. The blade returned to Rinoa's wrist.

The other soldier ran forward, but his charge was cut short by a bolt of lightning, courtesy of Zell. The soldier fell dead. Squall walked over and found a card laying on the ground.

"What's this?" Squall asked.

"It's a Triple Triad Card," Zell said.

Squall shrugged and went into the pub. Inside, the man that had been harassed by the soldiers was sitting in front of the exit door.

"What're we gonna do?" Rinoa whispered to Squall. He was tempted to swat at her for being so close to him. It was kind of annoying.

"I think we should give him his card back," Squall said, "That might prompt him to move."

She nodded and took the card from Squall. She went over to the man.

"Excuse me," she said.

"What!?" he asked irritated. He had a bruise forming on his brow. Squall could see why Rinoa and her group were wanting to get rid of the soldiers.

"Is this your card?" Rinoa said, showing him the card.

"Yes," he said, "but how did you get it?"

"Found it outside," Squall said.

The man looked as if he were about to cry. "Thank you," he said.

He took the card and moved out of their way. He sat over at a table looking at the card. Squall wondered what it meant to him. It was just a game card after all.

He shrugged and walked out the door. Rinoa and Zell followed. He walked forward and went up a flight of stairs. They stopped in front of a Giant outdoor screen. Red symbols were being displayed, scrolling down the screen.

"What is this?" Rinoa asked.

"This is being broadcast over all of the frequencies," Squall said.

"I don't like it," Rinoa said.

They went to turn when Watts suddenly came running up the stairs.

Rinoa turned to him.

"Sir," he said, "Securities super tight in the T.V. station. It's practically flooded with guards."

"So we can't just charge in," Rinoa said, "Okay. We need to come up with another plan then."

Squall crossed his arms and looked down over the edge of the stairs. He was visibly upset.

"What is it?" Rinoa asked.

"Nothing," Squall answered, "We're SeeDs. We'll act according to your orders."

"How sad," Rinoa said, "Act on my orders? What an easy life it must be to follow other's commands?"

"Oh, and what about you!?" Squall shouted before he knew it.

"Yes?" Rinoa said.

"Nevermind," Squall said.

"No," Rinoa said, "the least you can do is finish it. This is an order from your client."

"Okay," Squall said, "How serious are you? Really? You plop down on the floor to discuss strategy. Sure, you have the technology, but you're sloppy about how you go about it. How do you think we feel working for such an organization?"

"Squall man," Zell said, "Lighten up."

Squall realized he had just exploded on Rinoa. "I'm sorry," he said.

"You know what," Rinoa said, "I thought all of our problems would be solved when we hired SeeD, but maybe we were better off."

She went to walk off. She turned around to look at him and said, "We going to go in the T.V. station after Dieling leaves and make our own broadcast. It may not be finishing the president, but at least it's a start."

She walked down the steps and then turned back to Squall saying, "We are serious. So serious, it hurts."

She ran down the stairs. The turned to follow them, but suddenly the large T.V. screen blinked and came on. You could see people such as directors moving around. The stepped out of the way and a blonde man stood behind a podium.

"People can you hear me, can you see me?" he said, "This is the first live broadcast in 30 yrs. How exciting!"

He thrust his arms out. Then he paused a minute. "Excuse me," he said, "I seem to have lost my composure. We present to you, President Vinzer Dieling."

He walked off. Then a middle aged man walked up. He had dark hair with greying streaks.

"People of the nations," he said, "I'm am President Dieling. It is true that Galbadia has been at war with some countries for quite some time now, but I seek to amend that. I wish to introduce the Ambassador of Galbadia."

_All this just to introduce an ambassador?_ Squall thought.

The was a loud noise. The president stopped for a minute. Sensing it was okay, he continued. "The ambassador is the Sorceress."

_Sorceress!_ Squall thought.

Suddenly there was another loud crash. Selfie had come up the steps by then and stood beside Squall and Zell. On screen, you could see guards running past the camera. Suddenly, a guard flew back into the room.

A blonde guy rushed into the room, sword drawn. Another guard approached and he cut him down.

"Seifer!" Selfie said.

Two guards grabbed him from behind. Seifer elbowed one in the face and kicked another that was approaching. The guard hit the camera knocking it sideways.

Suddenly, a woman came onto the screen.

"Get back" she said, "You're only going to provoke him."

"Instructor Trepe?" Zell asked.

Another guard came slowly walking up.

"I said get back," Quistis said.

She looked at the camera that was still on. "Timber team, if you can hear me report to the T.V. station now. I need your help!"

Squall looked at Selfie and Zell. They nodded and the group ran up the stairs. They passed over a bridge hanging high above the town. They burst through the double doors of the T.V. station and immediately caught sight of them. Seifer was holding the president, his sword pressed against his throat. Quistis turned to them.

"He broke out of the disciplinary room, injuring many in the process." she said.

"You...Stupid IDIOT!" Zell screamed.

_Zell please, _Squall thought.

"Be quiet," he said.

"Instructor, I know," Zell said, "You're going to take this idiot back to Garden and.."

"Shut up! No!" Squall said. He knew Zell had just blown it for them all.

"So," the president said, "You're all from Garden."

"Nice going, Chicken Wuss," Seifer said.

"You know, if anything happens to me," the president said, "there will be immediate retaliation on Garden."

"Shut up," Seifer said, pressing the blade of his sword into the man's neck. He started backing away and disappeared around a corner. Quistis ran and followed him. Squall, Zell, and Selfie followed as well.

Seifer rounded the corner. Suddenly, there was movement behind the curtain. A slender figure emerged. She was wearing a strange looking helmet.

"Such a scared little boy," the sorceress said.

"I'm not...don't call me a boy," Seifer said.

Quistis came in suddenly. She looked at Seifer, completely ignoring the sorceress. The sorceress immediately felt the strong pulse of feelings coming from the woman toward Seifer. She was going to be a problem. She raiser her hand and a golden orb flew from her hand. Quistis went to approach Seifer, but the orb hit her in a blast. Quistis' control left her and she was forced down to one knee.

"You don't want to be a little boy anymore?" the sorceress said.

"Shut up!" Seifer told her. He looked down to Quistis who kneeled unmoving. What had the woman done to her? He went to back away.

The sorceress knew what she had to do. She brought out his feelings of hatred toward Squall and she brought out his feelings of insecurity. He had to think that she was the only one that believed in him.

Squall and the others came rushing in. Anger lit up on Seifer's face. The sorceress knew they were about to attack. She lifted her hand. A heuge blast of power flew out from her, forcing them back.

"Wave goodbye to your childhood," the sorceress said, "and join me."

Seifer released the president who ran away in cowardice. Seifer waved his gunblade to the people who used to be his friends and followed the sorceress behind the curtain where they disappeared.


	13. Chapter 13: After Crisis

**_Author's Note:_** Since I was asked, I've only played this game all the way through 4 times. But it's been a while since I've played it. That's why some of the details are a bit sketchy. They will be! Lol. Plus, I took one of my reader's advice and put more depth into the story.

"After Crisis"

The group stood in the T.V. station. Seifer had disappeared along with the president and the sorceress as well. The had all stood there in silence, all of them in disbelief. Where had Seifer gone to? Rinoa came running in.

"Where's Seifer?" she asked.

"We don't know," Squall said.

Rinoa sighed. She hung her head. "Well," she said, "let's go."

She walked out. Quistis followed her and the Squall, Zell, and Selfie left as well. They descended the stairs of the tv station and went down to the alley behind the pub.

"They found our base," Rinoa said, "Everything was destroyed."

"And everyone..." Squall asked.

"They're okay," Rinoa said, "They're good at escaping."

"So what do we do now?" Squall asked.

Quistis folded her arms. "We need to find somewhere to lay low."

Rinoa nodded. They got up and went into the pub. Inside, a heavy set woman stood by the door.

"Rinoa," she said, "I heard what happened. You can stay at my place until things settle down."

"Thank you," Rinoa said. She turned to Squall and the others. "Follow me."

The ran out of the pub, looking around warily for soldiers. They ran up the stairs and up onto the street. "This way," Rinoa said, turning right. She ran into an old looking house. They followed her inside.

"Thanks Chief," Rinoa was saying as they entered.

"Chief?" Squall asked.

"She's the leader of the Forest Fox," Rinoa said.

"Oh," Squall said to himself more than anyone in the room.

"Let's stay here for a while," Selfie said while peering out the window.

Quistis nodded. The sat around resting for a while. Zell dozed quietly. He hadn't said much since the incident at the T.V. Station They all knew that he felt that any actions taken against Garden would be his fault.

Rinoa was talking to the chief and Squall sat silently thinking. Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door. After the first knock, it turned into a steady banging.

A girl ran down from the 2f.

"Upstairs," she said, "Hurry."

The group crept up the stair. The chief headed toward the door.

"Will she be okay?" Rinoa asked.

"Don't worry," the girl said, "The legend goes that my mother brought down thousands of men with her cooking and beauty."

"Wow," Selfie said, "That beauty part sure makes it sound like a legend."

The girl ignored Selfie's comment and rushed them up the stairs. Downstairs, they could hear the chief answering the door.

"What is this?" she said, speaking to a Galbadian soldier. "I have two small children in here. Don't do anything to frighten them."

Assured that she could handle herself, the gang quit listening to what was going on downstairs. Selfie went over to a bed. A small calico was lying on it. She plopped down and lied back.

"So tired," she said. The cat, disturbed by her movements got up and headed downstairs.

Quistis stood in the middle of the room with her arms crossed. Squall could see that something was bothering her. He walked over to her.

"Quistis," he said.

"When he discovered it was just you three going to Timber he was really upset," she said, "'They send out three rookie members on a mission like this? They could wind up facing the whole Galbadian army. Dammit, I'm goin to Timber!' I never would've guessed he was serious."

_You should know by now,_ Squall thought, _That guys always serious. _

He shrugged and Quistis walked off.

"I wonder what's to become of him," Quistis said.

Squall looked at her. "He may already be dead."

Rinoa looked up suddenly. "How can you be so casual about it?" she asked.

Squall looked at her. "It's just the truth," he said, "Seifer attacked the president. You can't stand to reason that they're just going to let that go."

Rinoa looked thoughtfully. "Still, I'm worried about him."

_Worried about him,_ Squall thought, _Seifer would love to hear that._ He chuckled to himself.

"How could you stand there and laugh?" Rinoa said, "You're terrible! MEANY!"

She turned her back on him and crossed her arms.

_What did I do_? He wondered.

"Sorry," he muttered.

Quistis sighed. She looked out the window and brushed her hair over her shoulder. Zell sat in a corner, silently brooding to himself. Then the chief came up the stairs.

"The soldiers are pulling out," she said, "If you're going to leave then now's the time."

Rinoa nodded. Squall headed for the door.

"Wait Squall," Quistis said, "What's your plan?"

Squall turned back to her with an annoyed look on his face. _We have to get out of here first,_ he thought.

As if she had read his mind, Quistis said, "Getting out of here is only the first step."

"What!?" Squall asked. He was shocked. Maybe Quistis wasn't lying when she said she wanted to get to know him better. She was already thinking the same as him.

"Garden Code, Article 8, Line 7," she said, waving her hand dismissively.

Squall thought, _8:7,If returning to the home Garden is not possible, report to the nearest Garden and await instructions._

"We'll need to head to the closest Garden," he answered.

"Right," Quistis said, "good. Now, the closest Garden from here would be Galbadia Garden. Leaving Timber, you take the train to the Northeast Station. You'll have to cross through a forest from there."

"Okay," Squall said, "who'll be going with me. We need to split up. Five people traveling together looks to suspicious."

"I'd like to travel with Squall," Quistis said.

"Me too," Zell answered. It was the first thing he had said since the incident at the T.V. Station.

Quistis turned to Rinoa saying, "Will you and Selfie be okay traveling alone?"

Selfie nodded from behind Rinoa.

"I think we can manage," Rinoa answered. Quistis nodded.

Squall headed out the door. Zell and Quistis rose to follow him.

Rinoa went to leave, but before she could reach the door, the Chief said, "Wait. Take this with you."

She handed Rinoa some potions, a soft, a remedy, and a Phoenix Down.

"Thank you so much," Rinoa said. The chief waved her off and she headed out the door. She walked by and noticed a Galbadian soldier.

She drew her pinwheel. Hearing the sound, Squall and the others turned to see what was going on. They saw Rinoa with her weapon aimed at the soldier and ran up to help her fight if need be.

"Wait," the soldier cried desperately, "It's me sir!"

"Watts!?" Rinoa asked, lowering the weapon.

"Yes sir," Watts answered, "I've got some info sir. All of the trains have been shut down."

"Bummer!!!" Selfie said.

"Well, what do we do?" Rinoa asked.

"We're getting on that train," Squall said.

"Right," Watts answered.

"What about you?" Squall asked, "Will you be alright?"

"Don't worry about me sir," Watts said, "I'll fight to my last."

He saluted. Immediately, the SeeDs saluted in return. Rinoa caught on and "saluted" also. She kept glancing behind her. When the others lowered their hands, she did as well.

"I'm happy sir," Watts said. He ran off towards an old looking house.

Rinoa sighed. She turned and walked off, Selfie following. Squall turned to Quistis and Zell. Zell shrugged and Quistis rolled her eyes. They turned and walked off toward the train platform and Squall followed.

They were about to enter when an old, dirty looking man approached them. Quistis looked at him with a rather disgusted look on her face. He smelt badly of spirits.

"Wait," the man said, "Rinoa, Squall."

Rinoa turned to look at him. Confusion spread out across her face.

"Do I know you?" she asked, leaning in.

"It's Zone!" he said, sounding slightly aggravated.

"Oh!" Rinoa said and backed off.

"The train tickets are all sold out," Zone said.

"Super Duper Mega Bummer!!!" Selfie said.

"What are we gonna do Squall?" Rinoa said.

Squall looked at all of them. Quistis rested against the railing and crossed her arms. She was waiting for him to do it and he knew it. She really was getting to know him.

He reached for his gunblade.

"No, now hold on," Zone said, "There's no need for that. I've got everyone's ticket right here," Zone said.

Squall nodded and slid the gunblade back in its sheath. Zone proceeded to hand out the ticket.

"One's for you Rinoa," he said, handing his leader one, "I've got three for you SeeD people. I'll give them to the leader."

He walked over and gave the tickets to Squall.

"And one for me," he said, clutching another ticket.

Then he noticed Quistis. There was no way he was gonna let them all leave such a striking beauty behind. And his own love for women wouldn't allow him to.

"Here," he said, proffering her the ticket, "Take it."

"I couldn't," Quistis said, "That's your ticket."

Zone rolled his eyes, but she didn't see him. He knew what he had to do. He clutched his stomach suddenly and fell to his knees. He glanced at Rinoa, assured that she knew what he was doing.

"Just take it," he said, and forced the ticket into Quistis' hand. Then he ventured over to a corner and knelt down, still pretending to have stomach pains.

"Will you be okay?" Rinoa asked for Quistis' sake.

"Yeah, I'll go hide in a bathroom or something," Zone said, "Now go. The train is leaving shortly."

"Thank you," Quistis said.

Selfie and Rinoa hurried on ahead. Squall walked forward and placed his hand on Quistis' shoulder. She nodded and they walked over. They handed off their tickets and headed onto the train.

"Do you remember the directions?" Quistis asked.

"Northeast to a forest which we will cross through to get to Galbadian Garden," he answered obediently.

"Good," Quistis said, "I'm glad we have a leader with a good memory."

He nodded. With a lurch, the train left Timber and headed towards the forest that had become their destination.


	14. Chapter 14: A Rest Stop Before We Go

"Rest Stop Before We Go"

The train rumbled along the tracks. The ride passed without any events. Needless to say, it was quite boring. Squall had attempted to talk to Zell, but he remained as silent as ever.

The train stopped and they got off at a small, deserted looking station. It was no surprise. The station was just a stop in the middle of nowhere. Squall sighed and looked at the group around him. Rinoa and Selfie proceeded into the forest. He looked at Quistis and Zell. Quistis was fiddling with her whip and Zell was looking around with his arms crossed.

"Let's go," Squall said.

"Wait Squall," Quistis said.

"What is it?" Squall asked.

"Before we head to Galbadia Garden, why don't we take a rest stop in Dollet? They've made great progress in cleaning up the city since the SeeD Exam."

"Okay," Squall said, "I guess, but let me tell Rinoa and Selfie first."

Quistis nodded, but Squall saw a look of frustration pass over her features. She hid it well, but she wasn't quick enough for him. He could tell that she definitely didn't want the girls along.

Squall ran ahead after Rinoa and Selfie, who had already left the station and headed for the forest. Quistis sat down on the stone steps of the station. Zell put his hands in his pockets and looked out across the sky. His brow knitted and Quistis could tell he was deep in thought.

She began combing her hair with her fingers when Zell suddenly said, "Instructor..."

"Yes Zell?" Quistis asked.

"Do you think Garden will be alright? Do you really think they're gonna retaliate?"

Quistis sighed. She looked down at the whip on her side. She had learned how to use the weapon at the age of ten. War was a big part of her life. It wasn't logical to have thought that her calm life in Garden could've lasted forever.

"I don't know," She said, "There's no way any of us could know. Garden has great defenses and all of the students are prepared for any emergencies. If everyone is ready, I believe Garden will be okay."

Zell nodded and turned back skyward. Quistis knew it wasn't much consolation, but it was all she had to offer at the time. She sighed and waited for Squall to return. Soon he had come back and told them that Selfie and Rinoa had already started on the way.

_Good,_ Quistis thought, _We can travel alone now._ It wasn't that she disliked the girls, but she just didn't want them around when she was in Squall. In fact, she loved being around Selfie. Her bubbly personality brought something back into her life that she had forgotten long ago.

The stood and head down the road towards Dollet. There was a large forest near Dollet, but Squall decided to ignore it. He could've sworn he'd seen rocks flying around though. Quistis walked into the town. She stretched a little. The sunlight poured in over the bridge they had crossed. It was near sunset and was soon to be growing dark.

Zell walked along the road with his hands in his back pockets. A dog was playing in the street. He recognized it as the same one that had annoyed Seifer during their SeeD exam. Boy had things changed since then. He was so worried about Garden it was making him sick. He hadn't eaten in a while. He wanted to hurry and get to Galbadia Garden and fast.

Squall headed on into the town, taking the familiar street he knew. The one they had used to escape the giant, spider like robot. If it hadn't have been for the woman beside him, he could have very well been killed. He was almost forced to rely on his GF for his life.

He was amazed how at how young Quistis seemed, gazing about the town in delight. He had to admit that Dollet had made great strides since the Galbadian army had withdrew. It started getting dark, and some of the street lights had started to come on. Squall arrived at the fountain in the Central Square where he, Zell, and Seifer had been posted. Rinoa was sitting on the edge of it and Selfie was sitting at a table at the café. They both stood when Squall walked up.

"So what are we doing here?" Rinoa said.

"Quistis had something she wanted to do..." Squall said.

"Oh..." Selfie said, making it very obvious what her comment meant. Squall rolled his eyes. Zell sighed in frustration and walked over to a large building.

"It's getting dark," he said, "Are we staying here tonight?"

"Might as well," Squall said. "We'll report to Galbadia Garden in the morning."

They nodded. They entered the hotel, checked in, and went to their rooms.

"I'll be back soon," Quistis said. She walked out the door.

"That's strange," Squall said. He decided it didn't matter and layed down on the bed.

The sound of a door closing was what woke Squall up. He saw Quistis gaze down at a Triple Triad Card before she slipped it in her pocket. It had a likeness to something he had seen before, but he couldn't be sure. He shrugged and drifted back to sleep.


	15. Chapter 15: Crazy Dream

Author's Note: I couldn't really remember how Zell started talking about Garden's peril. Therefore, I had to make up what was said to get Zell pleading with Squall which ultimately led to Squall and Rinoa's second argument. Please bear with me.

"A Crazy Dream"

"Where did you go last night?" Squall asked Quistis as they prepared to leave Dollet.

Quistis smiled a knowing smile and reached into her back pocket. She pulled out the Triple Triad Card he had seen her looking at the night before. Then he realized what he had seen. An image of the GF Siren was engraved upon it.

"Where did you get this?" Squall asked.

"The owner of the pub had it. I played him and beat him. Oh, and I meant to tell you. I have an Ifrit card too. I found it when we fought him."

Squall looked as she pulled out yet another card with the Fire GF engraved on it.

"I also know that you have one too," Quistis said.

Squall nodded. He reached into his side pocket and pulled out the card he had found of Diablos after their fight. Quistis giggled a little.

"What?" he asked.

"Well," Quistis said, "I know the creator of the cards."

"You do?" Squall asked.

"Mmm hmm," Quistis answered, "And he's doing a little favor for me."

"And what is that?" Squall asked.

"Well," Quistis said, "I want you to start practicing Triple Triad when you have the time. I'm sure if you play enough, you'll find out what I did."

Squall thought that was really weird, but he said nothing except, "Okay."

Quistis nodded. She handed Squall the two GF cards and said, "Here, this should help."

He thanked her. They saw Zell over at the cafeteria. Squall was glad to see him eating again, and wasn't surprised to see that it was a hotdog over on Zell's plate.

After Zell had eaten, Squall said, "Okay you guys, let's head to Galbadia Garden."

They nodded and walked out of Dollet. They began making their way back to the forest. Zell looked around the forest as they entered. Suddenly, a mushroom like creature appeared.

Squall extended his hand and shot out Blizzaga. A huge ice crystal spread out from the cent of the monster, freezing in entirely. The creature shriveled away and died. Up ahead, they found Rinoa and Selfie waiting.

The forest was actually quite beautiful. A path of dirt had been worn through it and beautiful flowers covered the ground. Rinoa was gazing at a rose. Selfie was perched on a fallen log that was covered in moss.

As they walked up, Quistis said, "It's not much further from her. Just over that hill there."

"Yeah," Selfie said, "And then we'll be able to find out about Garden!"

That drew Zell's attention. "Squall," he said, "Do you think that Galbadia will really retaliate on Garden?"

Squall looked at him. "I don't know."

Zell was desperate now. He latched on to Squall's hand. "But, but, Garden has all those SeeDs. There's no way they would lose to Galbadia is there?"

"It depends," Squall said, "A lot of Garden's mercenaries are just students and Galbadia is a large army."

Squall snatched his hand away from Zell's grasp.

"But," Zell said. He shook his head. That's when Rinoa charged forward.

"Oh you're just great aren't you?" she said.

Zell moved out the way.

_Oh, boy_ Squall thought _Here it comes._

"Your comrade is looking for your support," Rinoa said.

_I knew it would be something like that,_ he thought. He glanced up at Quistis who was shaking her head. He knew full well that she knew what he was thinking.

"What kind of leader are you anyway?" Rinoa was saying, "You should be able to help your friends when they need it,"

_Whatever,_ Squall thought. Rinoa rambled on and on and Squall decided that ignoring her was the best plan of action. Then he started having a familiar swimming feeling. He pressed his hand to his head.

"Are you even listening to me?" Rinoa asked indignified.

Squall felt a high pitched sound reverberating through his skull. He clutched his head and fell to the ground. Rinoa gasped and stepped back. What was going on?

Suddenly, Quistis gasped and collapsed. Selfie started swaying along with Zell. Zell crouched down and Selfie said, "Ugh, me too."

Selfie collapsed also. Rinoa, with a look of fear painted on her face, turned to Zell and said, "What's going on?"

Zell returned, "They've went to the Dream World."

Laguna looked out over the chain railing into the deep valley below. Where were they anyway? Kiros(Selfie) walked up and said, "We're lost again aren't we?"

Ward(Quistis) came up from behind them and said, "Oh no, not again."

"We're not lost," Laguna said. He pulled out a map. It was upside down so he flipped it over. He started scanning over it, looking for any familiar lang markings they had passed. The map sure was small for the region they were in. He glanced down at the bottom and immediately thought, _Oh no._

The map read: Map of Balamb

Laguna shrugged. "Well guys," he said, "We're lost."

Kiros and Ward shrugged. Inside Ward, Quistis silently viewed the scene, thinking she was just dreaming. She did wander however why she would dream of people she didn't even know and why she would dream of herself as a man.

"Okay," Laguna said, "While we're hear, we might as well investigate. Make sure all of your equipped."

On instinct, Quistis looked down through Ward's eyes at her inventory. She was surprised to find that her GF was still equipped. This was certainly a strange dream.

"Let's go," Laguna said. Kiros and Ward followed him. Surprisingly, the dirt path led them onto a catwalk. A conveyer belt ran underneath it carrying huge stones.

"What's this big pile o' rocks?" Laguna asked.

Kiros shrugged .Then the bushes ahead rustled.

"Hey guys," Laguna said, "We've got company."

A soldier came out wearing a shiny outfit. His full head was covered and bug like eye slots allowed him to see. He carried a strange weapon.

"Esthar soldiers," Laguna said, "Still wearing those flashy uniforms I see."

Ward had backed into Laguna now, and Quistis was seeing what he was seeing. Three more of these strange soldiers had come up from behind. It was an ambush.

"L..Laguna," Ward stumbled.

"Don't be such a baby," Laguna was saying, until he turned around, "Whoa."

The three soldier rushed forward. Instinctively, Quistis called out her GF, but it was truly Ward who had called upon it. The familiar purple waves crashed over the catwalk and the magic filled the place, turning it into a sea. Siren sat perched on her rock. She extended her wings and played her harp, sending out the violent waves of music. They tore through the three soldiers, killing them instantly.

Kiros ran forward with the two strange blades he used and in two quick swipes the forth soldier was no more.

Ward looked up from the battle scene. He could hear rustling from the path they were just on.

"There are more coming," he said.

"Let's go," Laguna answered. The three slipped away before the other soldier showed up, retreating to safety for the time being. They climbed down a ladder in the center of the catwalk. Once they got to the bottom, they found themselves deep underground, surrounded by a crystal like substance. That had explained the pile of rocks. This was an excavation site.

They began making their way down the path that was dugout in the ground. They passed an area that had been blocked off, but were lucky enough to find another path. Suddenly Laguna stopped and stooped to pick something up.

"What is it?" Kiros asked.

"Looks like some kind of old key," Laguna said, looking over the rusted object in his hand. Kiros and Ward looked at each other and shrugged. Laguna put the key in his back pocket. Then he said, "Hey, I feel a draft...on my butt."

He reached back and said, "There's a whole in my pocket!!!"

Sure enough, the key wasn't in there. He looked around on the ground but still couldn't find it.

"Ah well," he said, "Nothing cheaper than something free."

"Nothing cheaper," Kiros started.

"Than something free?" Ward continued. They stood there and looked at Laguna like he was an idiot.

"What!?" Laguna asked. He stormed off and they followed behind him. They continued down the passageway till they came to a place where three panels had been sealed along the path. Apparently they had drilled there, but found nothing.

Laguna walked over the panel and heard a squeaking.

"Hey!" he said, "this lever's lose."

"That could be dangerous," Kiros said.

"Exactly!" Laguna said with a mad gleam in his eye.

_Oh boy,_ Ward thought. Then he asked, "What are you talking about?"

"If we loosen up this lever a bit more," Laguna said, "Then some poor Esthar fool will come along and, blam! Fall right in."

Kiros and Ward looked at each other. Kiros raised his brows.

"And you really think that the Esthar soldiers are gonna fall for that?"

Laguna looked up at him with that same look in his eye. "It never hurts to try! Now you two move over there."

He started on the first panel, trying to loosen up the lever.

"Huh?" he said, "It's stuck."

He shrugged and moved to the middle panel. He twisted the lever and it fell away. Then he moved to the third panel. He went to reach for the lever when Kiros said, "Planning to fall for your own trap?"

"Huh?" Laguna said. He looked around. Surely enough, if he loosened the lever on the third panel, it would leave him no way out.

"That's exactly what I was just about to explain," Laguna said, "I think we should leave the third lever alone."

Kiros sighed as his leader made his way over. They heard footsteps on the rung of the ladder and decided it was time to leave.

They proceeded into the next part of the passageway, unaware that a soldier really had fallen into the trap. He fell to his death below.

Laguna and the other two came to a place with two entrances. They could hear the sounds of the forest through one.

"The exit!" Ward said.

"Hold on," Laguna said, "I want to investigate some more. Something's not right about this place."

The other two sighed heavily, wondering what trouble Laguna was about to tie them into now. Laguna proceeded through the other opening and they followed. It lead to a long pathway. Again there was a split. One path led up to a ladder that, as they would come to find out, would only lead them back they way they had come. The other one led up into more of the crystal like substance. Then it branched off twice. One led up to a path of more crystal while the other led into what should've very well been the walls to buildings. Stair ran up this path. They took it and came out on a path of crystal. They took it and passed a boulder jammed into the wall. It looked like it was loose, so Laguna pushed on it. Sure enough, it gave and rolled away. They heard an Esthar soldier cry out and the boulder dropped off some ways away.

"You're like a child," Kiros said, "going around touching everything you see."

"Well, at least it got rid of the soldier. And now the path is clear," he said, "It's like killing two rats with one stone."

"Don't you mean birds?" Ward asked.

"Whatever," Laguna replied. He stormed off down the passage. They followed him. They went down a flight of stairs and came back out on the passage of crystal they had deemed not to take before. This place was just a big loop it seemed. Laguna was looking at a switch on the floor and a boulder nearby.

"What is this?" Laguna asked. He looked down. It was a controller with two buttons to match two fuses.

"A detonator, one would call it," came the reply from Kiros.

Laguna reached down to push the button for the furthest charge.

"Wait," Ward said, "Who knows how powerful that thing might be."

"It's okay," Laguna said, "the detonator's right here. If we stand here we should be fine."

Without further argument, Laguna pressed the button. Suddenly there was a loud rumbling like a huge explosion far off. The smallest of the boulders rolled away, trapping two Esthar soldiers in a wall.

"Whoa, that was awfully loud." Laguna said.

"See," Ward answered.

"Well, it's like I said," Laguna continued, "You never know how powerful the thing can be."

"Um, wasn't it me that said that?" Ward asked.

Laguna ignored him. He pressed the other button.

"It's gonna blow!" he shouted, "Run for it!"

The three hurried back up the steps they waited for the explosion. All's they heard was a little "pft" and the larger boulder ran away. It rolled down and plugged a whole. The three didn't know that the rumbling they had heard earlier also released the two panels Laguna had tampered with.

"That was awfully quiet," Kiros said as they returned to the place with the detonator.

"See," Laguna said, "I knew this little thing couldn't have been that powerful."

Ward rolled his eyes. Kiros sighed. He had had enough of this.

"Don't you think we've tampered with enough around here?" he asked.

Laguna shrugged. "Okay," he said, "Let's head for the exit."

They walked back down the path. Suddenly, a huge monster stood in their path. It was strange looking. It didn't look normal at all.

It raised its hands and suddenly Kiros was lifted into the air. He struggled, realizing he was in the things telekinetic grasp. This must have been those manufactured fighters he had heard that Esthar was using.

Laguna ran forward and called upon Shiva. She burst out of the crystal like substance and immediately showered the strange creature with a burst of ice. It froze up and Kiros fell to the ground. Suddenly there was a high pitched whining.

"Back!" Laguna ordered. The thing blew up. It had been set to self destruct on defeat.

"Let's go," Kiros said. He was so ready to get out of this place.

They walked back through the passages. No more Esthar soldiers came their way, and if that loud rumbling they heard hadn't been the fuse, then what was it? They reached the exit and went up a set of steps. They came out onto a cliff overlooking the ocean. Laguna peered over the edge.

"A ship," he said, "Guys, a ship! We're saved."

"A vessel one would normally call it," was the reply from Kiros. Suddenly, three soldier rushed upward from the ground below. Laguna gunned down the first one and Kiros dispatched the other.

Ward launched his spear and it flew true. It pierced the other soldier. However, before the soldier died, it sent its weapon forth with energy surrounding it, performing Soul Crush. Laguna ducked and Kiros and Ward were hit by the attack. They were all thrown backwards to land in a heap and the entrance to the mines was blocked off.

Laguna crawled to his feet. "C'mon guys," he said, "Time to go."

Ward mumbled something weekly.

"What?" Laguna asked.

"I think his throat was injured in the fight," Kiros said.

Laguna leaned down to hear what Ward was saying.

"Thanks you guys," Ward whispered, "Laguna, Kiros, it was fun."

"Hey!" Laguna said, "don't talk like that or I'll be forced to give you the cucchi-cucchi treatment."

He bent down and grabbed slightly at Ward's ribs. A small smile played at his face.

"There. Had enough?" he said. Ward was silent.

"Anyhow," Laguna said. "We have to get to that boat. And the only way to it is over this cliff."

He turned, but saw they were making no moves. How strong could that attack have been?

He moved to pick each of them up. Slowly he made his way to the cliff side and calmly flipped them over the side. The water would ease their fall and the Galbadian armor was made to keep them aloft.

Then he looked over the edge.

"You guys sure are brave," he said, "Do you know how steep this cliff is?"

He went to ease himself down the cliff side, but his foot slip and he plummeted to the sea below.

Squall woke suddenly with a start. Quistis and Selfie were coming out of their dreams as well.

"Well," Zell said, "How's Laguna doin?"

"Laguna's in major trouble this time," Selfie said.

"Looks like this isn't the first time for you three," Quistis said, shaking her head groggily.

Squall nodded his head. "More to report to the headmaster."

They all nodded and turned to leave. Rinoa stayed behind.

"Squall," she said, "I'm sorry. I may have said too much."

Squall waved his hand, dismissing the whole argument. _It's alright_ he thought. They turned and walked out of the forest.


	16. Chapter 16: Galbadia Garden

"Galbadia Garden"

Squall, Quistis and Zell emerged from the forest. Rinoa and Selfie had once again separated from them and now they traveled across a canyon towards the Garden. They could see it from where they were. It was red and gold, whereas Balamb Garden was blue and silver. It was a short walk to the Garden.

They walked on in silence. A lot had happened since they had left Balamb Garden. Who'd have known that so much trouble could exist in such a small town as Timber? Zell looked around and sighed heavily. It wouldn't be soon till they found out exactly what was going on with Garden.

They finally reached the front gates of the garden. It seemed Galbadia Garden was much different from Balamb. It seemed much more militaristic in a way. In fact, students were being trained above them in how to fly some kind of fighting machine. They watched in awe for awhile and then proceeded into the garden. Rinoa and Selfie waited at the gates.

"This place sure is different from Balamb," Selfie said.

"It's quiet," Zell added.

"I like it," Squall said.

They all giggled a little at that. It was so typical of Squall. Selfie looked around and Rinoa and Zell leaned on the turnstiles required to gain admittance to the Garden. Quistis looked at them. All of them were in a strange place she knew, so she decided she'd take charge.

"I'll go on," Quistis said, "I know the headmaster here. I'll go explain our situation."

She walked through the turnstiles. Squall looked at the others and shrugged.

"We should head on into the Garden," Rinoa said.

Squall nodded and they all proceeded through the turnstile. Quistis had already moved ahead. There was a light fixture on the floor. The universal symbol for Garden was lit up in a column of light. Squall and the rest moved to stand near it. Squall sensed a draw point nearby, and apparently Rinoa did too, for she had already moved to it. She drew up the spell Haste and stocked it.

Suddenly, an announcement came over the intercom of Galbadia's system.

"Would the SeeD party from Balamb Garden please proceed to the waiting room on the 2F."

They all looked up and then to each other. They nodded and headed down a hallway on which stairs could be seen. They proceeded up the stairs and looked around. There were two ways the hall led, an elevator, and some doors. In other words, they were lost.

"Are you looking for the waiting room?" came a voice.

They turned to see a red headed boy in a green wheelchair looking up at them.

"Yes," Rinoa said.

"It's right over there," the boy said, pointing to one of the doors.

"Thank you," Rinoa said. They turned and walked in.

Once inside the waiting room, Zell plopped down on one of the couches and immediately went into what Squall had deemed his silent mode. Rinoa moved past the glass table in the middle and stood facing away from them, clutching at what Squall presumed was a necklace.

Selfie moved behind another couch, looking outside of a large window. Squall sighed. He moved over to a desk and leaned onto it. So Quistis knew the headmaster did she?

As if reading his mind, Rinoa turned and said, "So did Quistis go to school here?"

Squall shrugged. How was he supposed to know. Zell looked up suddenly, his face red.

"How long are they gonna make us wait!?" he said, angrily.

As if in answer to his question, the doors slid open to the room and Quistis walked in.

"Well, I talked to the headmaster and they understand our situation," Quistis said. Then looking to Zell she said, "And Garden is safe."

Zell jumped up, a big grin on his face. Selfie clapped her hands and for once, Quistis looked like she could breathe again.

"And..." came Rinoa's voice, "What of Seifer?"

Quistis sighed, looking at the floor, and said, "The trial is over and the sentence has been carried out."

"Sentence?" Selfie came.

Rinoa shuddered suddenly. "Of course there was sentence," she said sadly, "Seifer attacked the president. We should know that they would punish him."

Quistis moved to comfort Rinoa but she turned and said, "Don't you see! It's all my fault. Seifer knew what was going on. He was trying to help us."

Quistis sighed. "Seifer always did what he wanted to do. He helped because he wanted to. Not because your group needed it. So don't think of it as him sacrificing himself for you."

She shook her head after what she had said and plopped down on the couch. "I'm sorry," she said, "I guess that wasn't much consolation."

Rinoa nodded and clutched absently at her necklace again.

"You really hated Seifer didn't you Zell?" Selfie asked suddenly.

"Maybe a little," Zell said, "But he was one of us. If we can, I want revenge."

"Seifer was a troubled man," Quistis said, "but he wasn't a bad gay. He didn't deserve this."

"I don't think any were as close as we were," Rinoa said.

That got everyone's attention.

"Your boyfriend?" Selfie asked.

Rinoa sat down on the couch. "I..I don't know," she said, "I think I was in love. It was last summer. I was 16. Good memories..." she left the thought unfinished and sat there silently.

Squall moved towards the door. Millions of thoughts were swarming through his head. How could they sit around and talk about Seifer in past tense this way. "He wasn't a bad guy, He was one of us." Would they talk about him this way if he died? He wouldn't have it!!!

He went to leave. Quistis stood up and said, "Squall, where are you going?"

"I won't have it!" Squall said.

"Are you mad?" Selfie asked, looking at him as if he were crazy. He didn't like that look.

"I wont have anyone talk about me in the past tense!" Squall said, and bolted out the door.

Quistis looked at them all. They each had worried looks on their faces. She knew Squall better than any of them, so she said, "Something's bothering him. We may have said too much."

Rinoa stood and walked towards her. "Let's go find him."

Outside, Squall rushed down the steps. He bolted past a guy in a long brown jacket. He caught a glimpse of red hair and a cowboy hat and he pushed on past him.

"Hey," came the guys voice, but he continued down the hall.

He got to the glowing light fixture in the center of the Garden when he heard his name. He turned to look back up from where he came and saw two faces he wasn't expecting to see at all.

"Squall," said Raijin, "Hold on, we'll be right down." Fuujin and Raijin disappeared from sight for a moment and then reappeared running down the hall. They stopped short and looked at Squall.

"Hey man," Raijin said, "Did you hear about Garden?"

Squall nodded.

"SEIFER?" Fuujin asked.

Squall looked at them and said, "He's been executed."

"What!?" Raijin said, and Fuujin put her hand over her mouth.

Regaining her composure, Fuujin angrily threw her hand out to the side saying, "LIES!"

"Yeah, ya know?" Raijin said, "There's no way Seifer would go down like that."

Squall thought it over. He considered the possibility. He was sure Seifer wouldn't go down without a fight.

"FIND," Fuujin said.

"What? We're gonna find him?" Raijin asked, "Hey, we're gonna go look for Seifer." Raijin said. With that, the two members of Seifer's posse ran out the door. Squall sighed as he watched them go. Then an announcement came over the intercom.

"Would the SeeD party from Balamb Garden please report to the front gate."

Squall breathed heavily and then proceeded on towards the gate. He found Quistis waiting on him with her arms crossed. She looked up, relieved to see him.

"The others are waiting up ahead," Quistis said.

Squall nodded and moved to walk on.

"Squall," Quistis said.

He turned to look at her.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

He nodded and gave her a reassuring smile. She nodded and they both ran out towards the gate. As she had said, the rest of the group was there waiting.

Zell was pacing back and forth as he often did. "Man, I'm sick of waiting," he said.

Rinoa was seated on a wall, swinging her legs out in front of her. "When he comes," Rinoa said, "Just pretend I'm a SeeD too. It'll be less complicated that way."

Squall nodded. They heard a sound then, and a car came driving up from the Garden. It stopped and a blonde man in very official looking clothing stepped out. He looked at them all. They had moved to form a line and they saluted him. Rinoa was a little late in her salute, but the man didn't notice.

"I am Martel," he said, "Headmaster of Galbadia Garden."

They kept their salutes.

"At ease," Martel said. Understanding the command, Rinoa eased herself as well.

"We have recieved an order for the sorceress's assassination," he said.

"Assassination?" Squall said.

Martel nodded. "This mission will be unlike any other. It is a direct order from both Balamb and Galbadia Garden. We cannot risk any action taken on the Gardens by the military. With the sorceress gone, they will be left leaderless."

The group nodded. Martel walked over and handed the order to Squall.

Squall read over it and then said, "This says by means of sniper. We have no one in our team with that skill."

"No problem," Martel said. Then he shouted, "Kinneas! Irvine Kinneas!"

The group looked over to where Martel's gaze was focused. A man was lying on the grass. He had already been informed that this was likely to happen. A butterfly landed on his finger. He pretended his hand was a gun and shot it off. The butterfly flew away. He stood up and turned to face the group he was to travel with. He walked over to them, looking them over. There were some mighty fine women in this group. He nodded to each of them.

"Irvine will serve as sharpshooter in this mission. Should the sharpshooter fail, the rest is up to you. That is all."

Martel folded his arms behind his back, walked back to his car and drove off. Irvine looked at them all. He extended his arm and looked at the time. Then he formed his hand into the shape of a gun and said, "Bang!"

They jumped a little and he laughed. "So," he said, "We'll need to split up and board the train headed for Dieling City."

He grabbed Rinoa and Selfie and left Squall with Quistis and Zell and said, "How's this?"

Squall looked over the groups. They were balanced out and he was comfortable travelling with Quistis and Zell.

"Fine," Rinoa said. Then she leaned over and said, "C'mon Irvine. Let's go."

She hugged on him and Selfie, catching on did the same. They walked off, rolling their eyes at Squall. Quistis caught on to what was happening and grabbed Squall, saying, "C'mon Squall. Let's go."

Zell clutched his stomach laughing and they walked out of the Garden.


	17. Chapter 17: On the way to Dieling City

Rinoa, Irvine, and Selfie started out across the plains, making their way towards the train station that would take them to Deiling City, the capital of all of Galbadia. Suddenly, they could here a whirring noise. Rinoa turned around to see a Behelmel flying towards them.

She lifted her arm, preparing to shoot her Pinwheel. However, she was startled by a loud blast as Irvine shot the fiend down with his Shotgun. It twirled faintly and then plummeted to the grown, dead.

Meanwhile, Quistis, Squall, and Zell were also heading towards the station.

"C'mon Squall!" Quistis said, "I want to get there before them."

"Why?" Squall asked, picking up his speed nevertheless.

"It's the principle of the thing," Quistis said, imagining Selfie and Rinoa's faces when they realized that she and Squall had been "impatiently" waiting on them.

"Whatever," Squall said. Zell was lagging a bit.

"Yo, wait up!" he called.

"Sorry, Zell," Quistis called back, "but a SeeD should be able to keep up with his comrades."

"Son of a…" Zell said, but was startled as they were suddenly cut off by a Blood Soul. Quistis snapped at it with her whip, but it dodged out of the way. It swirled around towards Zell, but Squall was there, bringing his Gunblade down on top of it.

"Oh geeze," Zell said. If that thing would have latched onto him, he would have been drained in seconds. "I hate those things," he said.

They ran on. The train station came in view. When they stepped onto the steps, they were all relieved. Quistis breathed out a bit and then said, "You never know when a trek across a desert, a stop on the beach, or a stroll through a forest can become a fight for your lives. SeeD members should always be prepared for battle."

"You still sound like an instructor to me," Squall said.

Quistis smiled a little and sat down on the train station bench. She worried that she was getting out of shape. She wondered how far ahead of the others they were. Surely it wouldn't be that bad. They had all left at the same time and Quistis didn't think they ran _that _fast.

Rinoa looked to see Irvine had sweat pouring from his face. She was glad he was here. A great fiend had appeared out of no where and they were having a hard time with it. Rinoa had never seen anything like it before. There was nothing in any of the Monster Annuals like this.

It had three heads, each with the face of a woman, and long tentacle like arms. And apparently, it was an excellent spell castor. She leapt out of the way as a Blizzara crystal shot up out of the ground. Thankfully, the desert heat melted it quickly.

Irvine suddenly reached in his pocket and pulled out many bullets. He looked to Selfie and Rinoa and said, "Run."

"Wha…" Rinoa said, but then a tentacle fist lashed out at her.

"Just run," Irvine shouted. Then he pumped the shotgun full with the shells. He began clicking and shooting as fast as he could. The special jacketed bullets were funning right through the monster. He checked once more to see that Selfie and Rinoa were still fleeing and continued his Fast Shot Special.

The monster fell with blood oozing everywhere. Irvine put his gun on his shoulder and breathed. Suddenly, the monster began to rise again.

"No way…" he thought.

However, the skies became dark and bats flew in from over the cliffs. A large orb formed over the monster and a nightmarish GF came down from it. Then, with great power, it threw the Gravity Sphere downward, crushing the monster.

The GF dissipated and Rinoa stood there with a grin on here face. She smiled and she helped him up.

"What could be taking them so long?" Squall asked.

Suddenly, a very tired and dirty group came up onto the train station.

"What happened!?" Quistis asked.

"Don't worry about it." Selfie said. She had cast Full Cure on all of them. She just hoped that when they got to Deiling that she could take a hot relaxing shower.

They boarded the train. Squall went ahead and unlocked the door for Selfie and stood to the side as everyone got on the train. Selfie immediately went to the door. When it opened for her, she said, "Tee Hee, you caught on!"

"_This train, headed for Deiling City, will depart shortly," _The intercom said.

Rinoa giggled and said, "This is the only train bound for Deiling City anyway,". That made the whole group laugh.

Irvine looked at Selfie and said, "I think I'll go look around."

He passed through the doors. Immediately, it seemed like everyone got anxious.

"I don't really trust him yet," Zell said, "Don't let him in the SeeD cabin."

"Squall," Quistis said, "Don't you think you should go check on Selfie?"

Squall nodded and went through the doors, just in time to hear Irvine pouring his heart out to Selfie.

"Selfie darlin'" Irvine said, "We were meant to be together."

"Y-yeah right," Selfie said.

"You're my kinda woman," Irvine continued.

Selfie sighed heavily.

"A sigh of love?" Irvine sounded desperate.

"N-No!" Selfie said, jumping up and down.

Irvine hung his head and went to walk away, almost bumping into Squall.

"Pardon me," he said.

Squall rolled his eyes. He walked up to Selfie to make sure she was alright after being pressed like that. She was breathing heavily when he walked up.

"My thoughts are racing and my heart is pounding," Selfie said.

"You'll have to get used to pressure," Squall said. He shrugged and walked away. Selfie didn't think Squall understood at all.

Squall came back into the room only to see Irvine starting the same speech on Rinoa. He almost chuckled at that.

"Irvine Kinneas, behave yourself!" Quistis said, "You are a valuable part of this mission and we expect you to act like it."

"None of you get me," Irvine said.

He began pacing the room and looking at each of them as he spoke. "Sharpshooters are loners by nature. We pour our entire being into a single shot; a single bullet."

_Oh brother_ Squall thought.

"We rarely hang in groups like this," Irvine continued, "So just leave me alone and let me be!" he said dramatically, before ending with, "Get my drift?"

Zell punched the floor of the train and cursed under his breath.

Suddenly, the train slowed considerably and the cabin was shaken violently. Then, it regained speed.

"_Attention," _came the intercom, _"There was no damage to the train from that minor vibration. Err..I repeat. There was no damage to the train."_

The group shrugged as the continued on their way.


End file.
